Lost Between Worlds (Part 2)
by pinkittwice54
Summary: I was lost and then I was found. But I knew I lost something of my own and now I have to find it. Or I'll die trying. A continuation of Lost Between Worlds Part 1 that can be found on my page.
1. Ninjas?

**This is a continuation of a multi fandom story. The prologue and the first part can be found on my page since FanFiction won't let me post links. It's not exactly necessary to read the first two but for exposition reasons and backstory- they are for your disposal to read. On with Part 2!**

 **Thank you for pointing out that the code was showing.**

Chapter 4 - Ninjas?

The land on the other side of the portal was rough and painful but I was alone. I had a lot on my side since the portal closed behind me- what if this wasn't the place? How could I get home? Could I even consider it home anymore?

It was certainly too late to back out now though.

Realizing that I pretty much had nowhere to go- I followed the path nearest to my location. On the road, an old man eventually came into view. I figured that if I followed him- I would end up at some kind of civilization and I would then be able to start my search. At some point he looked back at me from his walk and watched me. I had kept walking though so he wouldn't suspect that I was following him.

It seemed to do the trick but it was enough where instead of me walking behind him- we were walking side by side. I was incredibly nervous but the old man didn't seem to mind at all.

We eventually made it over a hill that overlooked some farmland and what appeared to be a shop. I was little disheartened to see a lack of civilization but people were people so it was a start.

"Thank you for accompanying me young one." The old man spoke.

I blinked and stuttered. "You-you're welcome sir."

"It's not good for a child to be so far away from home. Where are your parents?"

A blush spread across my face and I started to fidget with my shirt. "They're close." ' _Hopefully.'_

He nodded. "Then go to them and have a goodnight."

"That's the plan." I nodded. "Goodnight to you too!"

So we continued walking but I made a Beeline to the people in the rice fields, asking them if the tag looked familiar to them. I repeatedly received negative answers and continued to lose hope.

It wasn't long until the village appeared to be under attack by skeletons in bone cars. By the panic of the people I inferred that this wasn't exactly normal and felt compelled to fight for them. I ran with the skeletons until they reached the shop and took out my sword.

These were not the skeletons I had grown accustomed to fighting. They were bulkier, more aggressive, they could talk and were certainly stronger. While I tried to knock them down- there were too many and I was overpowered soon enough.

I thought that these monsters would have killed me on the spot but a golden tornado freed me from where I was. I got up as fast as I could and continued to fight- chasing the skeletons away. When they were far enough to my liking- I ran back to the shop to see the biggest skeleton facing off the old man. Behind them appeared to be another guy but he was struggling to get up. The skeleton threw his daggers at the water reserve causing the old man to save the guy on the ground. I gasped at the sight of the golden tornado he created.

"Lord Garmadon says take the girl!" The large skeleton yelled.

Without warning a boney, claw-like clasp sprung from their vehicle and captured the girl that was fighting some other skeletons. Once she was in their possession, they drove away.

"You could have done something!" The guy yelled. "You could have used your twist-itzu- your- "

"Spinjitzu." The old man interrupted.

"But you did nothing and now they have my sister!" He spat. "I'm getting her back!"

"Where they go- a mortal can not. It was Samokai, King of the Underworld and if it's true that he is taking orders from Lord Garmadon then I fear things are far worse than I had ever thought." The old man held his staff with both hands as he looked off into the distance.

I gulped and stepped forward. "Who's Lord Garmadon?"

The old man turned to me then back to the mystery guy. Mystery Guy exploded in his face though. "Lord Garmadon, underworld- what are you talking about? What do we have that's so important and why did they take my sister!?"

"What's so important?!" The old man tsk'ed. "It could be the very balance of the universe at stake. Back before time had a name- Ninjago was created by the first spinjitzu master-"

I sat down to enjoy the story that was now being told.

"-by using the four weapons of spinjitzu. The Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice and the Sword of Fire." The old man explained. "Weapons so powerful that no mortal could use them all at once. When he passed away- his two sons swore to protect them but the oldest was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them. A fight between brothers broke out and the oldest was struck down and banished to the underworld. Peace returned and the youngest hid the weapons but knowing his brother relentless ambition for power, he placed a guardian to protect them. And in fear of his own demise- a map for an honest man to hide. That honest man was your father."

I perked up at hear that only to deflate when I realized that the old man was talking to the mystery guy. However the old man kept talking. "The older brother is Lord Garmadon and I need to find the weapons before he does!"

"You're the younger brother?" Mystery Guy gapsed. "Then you've come looking for the map?"

"No." The old man answered. "I came looking for something greater. You!"

Mystery Guy did not look impressed.

"Since my brother cannot enter this realm, it is clear that he has struck a deal with Samukai." The old man started pacing around.

"The skeleton guy you were talking to?" I piped up.

"Yes." He nodded in my direction. "If he were to collect all four weapons then even I wouldn't be able to stop him again. But you-" The old man shoved his staff into Mystery Guy's face. "-have the fire inside! I will train you to harness it, use it- become a spinjitzu master."

"Look, I'm flattered you think I'm all that but I need to go save my sister… and not get involved in your sibling rivalry." Mystery Dude got up and started to walk away. The old man didn't take kindly to that and promptly knocked him flat onto his back. "Clunky mule! You are not even ready to face my pinkie toe!"

I giggled as the old man lifted his foot and wagged a toe in his face. "If you want to get your sister back- you must first learn to control the fire inside. Only when you become a spinjitzu master- only then will you be ready to face- Lord Garmadon."

"Ok." Mystery Guy gave up. "So when do we start?"

"Come!" The old man got off of him and started to lead the way. "I have just the place to start your training."

I stood up and yelled. "I want to help! Can I go with you guys?" 'I'll be safer traveling around if I'm with them...maybe I can search the land as I go through it.' I thought.

"No kid." Mystery Guy finally seemed to notice my existence. He stared at me for a while, making me a little self conscious before he spoke again. "It's not going to be safe. Go home to your family before they start to worry."

I gulped. "But I don't have a home. I don't even know where my family is…"

"You said your family was close." The old man looked at me.

I looked to the ground in shame. "I- I know...I thought they would have been...I've looking for them for a while now. I'm not from here either….so I don't even know where to start looking."

They both stared at me for a while and I got brave enough to steal a glimpse of them. The silence didn't last long though because the old man decided to break it. "It's not good for a child to be far away from home."

I gasped and ran to them- taking the old man's hand. "You will train as well...and sharpen your skills with your sword. Until you are no longer my student- you will call me Sensei Wu."

I nodded and grinned. "My name is Brittany!"

Sensei Wu smiled for a fraction of a second before he ushered us to be on our way. We started the walk off in silence but I managed to say at least something to the Mystery Guy. "What's your name?"

"I'm Kai." And he didn't say anything else for the rest of the walk.

It was quite the walk to where we were heading. We didn't really stop until we came to a huge rocky mountain-cliff- thing that Sensei Wu wasn't sure quite what to do. "Kai and I will go this way young one."

Sensei pointed to a lesser used trail. "You may continue on this one until you've reached the top. Do not stop for any reason...we will both see each other again soon."

I nodded and let go of his hand. "Alright."

Suddenly feeling anxious about this task- I started running up the mountain when they were out of my visual range. It didn't take long for me to lose my stamina and grow tired. I continued to walk however- Sensei told me not to stop after all. Pulling out a piece of bread to nibble on- I reached what assumed to be the half-mark. I peered over the edge of the stairs that the path had become only to see Kai and Sensei climbing up the mountain like monkeys. I giggled at how silly Kai looked compared to the older man and continued upwards.

By the time I reached the top- Sensei and Kai were already there, sitting on the rocks. Kai gulped for air- panting hard. "How long is this training going to take?"

"You'll be ready when you are ready and not a minute sooner." Sensei opened the door of the building and walked inside. Kai only looked perplexed. "A monastery? You expect me to learn to fight in a place of peace?"

I tilted my head in confusion and tuned out what they were saying as I looked around. It was a simple place...nothing extraordinary about it but it looked pretty. Suddenly- the ground that I was standing on shook and a pillar of training dummies sprung from the ground, sending me flying backwards. Next thing I knew the whole place was transformed into some kind of training ground. I could feel the sparkles in my eyes as I took it all in. "This is so cool!"

"Awesome! Is this going to teach me how to do that cool move?" Kai asked Sensei. He then proceeded to jump on one of the woods pillars...only for it to lower down and propel him off of it and into my direction. I managed to move out of the way in time before he crash into me.

Sensei sighed and walked around the arena- pulling out a small tea set and sitting himself down. "Finished the course before I finish my tea and we shall see if you are ready." He said.

He finished his tea in like three seconds before he said that Kai would have to try again tomorrow since he failed that day. Sensei then turned to me and said. "Follow me- I'll show you to your room."

"But what about my sister? Is that it? I need to save her!" Kai called out.

His only reply was. "Patience."

My room a little small but it would have to be enough for me. I thanked Sensei for taking me in and collapsed on the bed when he left. I took my tag out of my inventory and stared at it. "I'll find you guys...just wait."

I had a dreamless sleep that night.

The next day was just as Sensei said- Kai tried the course and didn't make it very far. I would always try after him but without the time limit of the tea cup. Slowly but surely we both made progress on the course- it took many days and even more tries to get it right. Kai eventually finished the course and won Sensei's challenge where as I was only half-way through.

"You are ready." Sensei nodded in approval to Kai. Kai questioned whether or not he learned spinjitzu. Sensei said. "You already have- your final test is tomorrow. I suggest you get some sleep."

I grinned and hugged Kai's arm. "That's great Kai! You did it! You're so cool!"

He ruffled my hair and chuckled. "Thanks kid…"

That night I couldn't sleep. I didn't even feel remotely tired. I was simply laying in my bed watching the the clock and continuing to die a slow death from boredom. In the dead of night I heard some scuffling coming from Kai's room which eventually moved it's way over my head and to the courtyard. Curious, I quietly got out of bed and made my way towards the doors. I could hear the training course being turned off and the sound of Sensei's voice scolding...someone. "Stop!"

"Yes Sensei." A chorus of different voices piped up. My eyebrows rose from the spot on my head. 'I didn't know Sensei had more students.' Apparently Kai didn't either. "Wait! These are your students too! This was my final test, wasn't it?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...you never said anything about a fourth!" Guy Number One spoke.

I looked just over the ledge of the window and saw Kai in his pajamas surrounded by three other guys completely dressed in black. Guy Number One kept talking. "It's always been three- three blind mice - three musketeers-"

"-What he's trying to say Sensei Wu-" Guy Number Two cut in. "-is that the three of us have trained together. We're solid."

"Didn't look so solid to me." Kai crossed his arms with a smug look on his face.

I furrowed my eyebrows and walked next to Sensei, pretending to have been woken up. "*yawn* What's going on?"

"Who's she?!" Guy Number One yelled.

"Another student of mine. "Sensei put a hand on my shoulder. "She's been training as well but I have a different idea for her purpose."

This made me even more curious but my lack of sleep was catching up to me. I yawned for real this time and smiled at the new people. "Hello! I'm Brittany, it's nice to meet you."

"But she's just a kid!" Guy Number Two cried out.

"I sense great strength in her though. "Guy Number Three finally decided to say something.

"He is right." Sensei cut in. "I've seen her fight and her potential."

"Besides-" Kai stepped in now. "-it's not like she had anywhere else to go."

I bit my lip and looked down. There was short silence before Guy Number One spoke again."Ok...while I can accept you being here- what's with the hair?"

I blinked and played with a few strands to look at it. "What do you mean?"

"It's pink…"

"It's always been pink." I tilted my head. "I was born with pink hair…"'If the archives were anything to go off by.'

"It does not lessen her in any sort of manner." Sensei shook his head. "There is always something more than how one may look."

"There's no need to make her feel bad- jeez." Kai put his hands on his hips. I smiled. "It's ok...I know it's not normal."

"I still don't understand Sensei." Guy Number Three spoke up. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Each of you have been chosen, each in tune with elemental properties but first- NINJA GO!" Sensei spun around, changing their outfits as he passed each one. He eventually passed me but my outfit stayed the same. I pouted and looked at my jeans and blue t-shirt, the same outfit of a new spawn. "Why didn't I get any new clothes?"

"All in due time young one."

"Wait a minute- I'm still black." Guy Number Two said.

"Kai! Master of Fire!" Sensei rested his staff on Kai's shoulder- completely disregarding Guy Number Two. "It burns bright in you."

Sensei then moved to Guy Number One. "Jay is clue. Master of Lighting."

"That's not the only thing I'm good at." 'He boasted. "I do a little inventing, I dabble in model building, a touch of cooking, little poetry-"

Guy Number Two groaned. "More like mouth of lighting." I giggled at that.

Sensei then turned to him and said. "Black ninja is Cole. Solid as rock, Master of Earth."

Cole showed off a bit causing Kai to scoff. Cole then turned to him and said. "Nice to meet you kid, I've got your back. And for the record-" He took off his hood. "-I'm not afraid of anything in this world."

"Except for dragons." Guy Number Three stated.

"Dragons aren't from this world Zane. I said in this world!"

"What about zombies?" I tilted my head. "They're pretty common where I'm from."

"What?"

"She says stuff like that all the time." Kai nudged Cole's shoulder. "Just play along."

Cole rolled his eyes. "No, I am not afraid of zombies."

I smiled and nodded in approval. "Good! They're pretty easy to beat anyway. Just hit them enough or wait till morning- they don't like the sun."

"White ninja is Zane. Master of Ice and seer with sixth sense." Sensei finished the introduction.

"I sense that this one takes things a little too seriously." Kai muttered.

"You too have the gift?" Zane took off his hood.

"No Zane it was a joke." Jay butted in. "Remember what we talked about, your sense of humor?"

"Yes it was a joke. Ha ha." Jay face palmed.

"Pay attention!" Sensei called back. "You four are the chosen ones- the ones to protect the four elemental weapons from Lord Garmadon."

"But what about my sister?" Yelled Kai.

Jay gasped. "We're saving a girl? Is she hot?"

Kai looked ready to rip his head off but Cole calmed them both down. Jay stepped off in an attempt to defend himself. "I just wanted to know what we have gotten ourselves into. Does she like blue?"

"Back off." Kai growled.

"When we find the weapons- we will find your sister." Sensei spoke with calmness. "It is time! We must go to the first weapon!"

"Whoa, hold on a minute! You said you were going to teach us spinjitzu!" Cole accused Sensei.

"Spinjitzu is an all of you but it will only be unlocked when the key is ready to be found."

"And me?" I asked- trying to not get my hopes up.

"You have not learned it yet young one and I'm afraid we must postpone your lessons. Come! My feet are tired, we will take the horse carriage."

I felt some tears bubble up but kept them back. The guys on the other hand seemed to be on the same boat as me even fi the results were completely different. "Great!" Jay groaned. "Now we have to find a key?!"

"Yeah -I have a feeling he's taking us for a ride." Cole scratched his head.

"Well if it means finding my sister." Kai stepped forward. "Then so be it."

"So...how old are you Pinky?" Jay turned to me as Kai walked away.

I rubbed my eyes and tried my best to grin. "I'm nine years old!"

"Then you must have some kind of gift for Sensei to take you in." Zane stepped up. "Where are you from?"

"I'm...from Minecraftia." 'I think.' "I'm looking for my parents."

"Minecraftia?" Jay sighed. "Never heard of it…"

"It's very far away." I bit my lip. "I didn't think you would have heard of it."

"So you traveled alone for all this time?" Cole blinked at me. I nodded in response.

"Come on now." Zane guided me in the way that Sensei had gone. "We can learn more about each other later. Right now- we mustn't keep Sensei waiting."

Turn out...Sensei and I would be the ones taken for a ride. The ninjas were pulling the carriage along with me and Sensei on top of it. They made small talk as they ran- talking about how found them and how things would have been much different is he didn't. I was simply watching the scenery pass us by- it was a really pretty forest until it was not longer a forest and we were going up some dirt mountain.

We eventually came to a stop and we all watched the skeletons work in what appeared to be a mine. "You must stay by the cart young one. This is a job for the ninja." Sensei looked at me.

I nodded and moved away.

I saw Kai leave before the others even realised he was gone and once they did- they quickly followed suit- leaving Sensei behind. Sensei then maneuvered his way towards me and took out what looked to be a sword. "It's best not to waste time. Do you have your sword?"

I pulled out the weakest sword- letting the iron glint in the sunlight. He then proceeded to attack me with his own sword and we fought each other. Sensei managed to knock me off of my feet every time but before we knew it- the ground beneath us started shaking and breaking apart. Without a moment to spare- the ninja came out of the ground though one of the created cracks doing spinjitzu in their respected elements. When they all landed, they took a split second to process their victory and brag about it to each other before Sensei cut them off. "Enough! I told you not to use the Scythe!"

Everyone pointed to Kai as the culprit, effectively throwing him under the bus. I took the time to hide my sword back in my inventory as Kai took the scolding from Sensei. He tried his best to defend himself though. "They took my sister remember?"

"There are still three weapons left, maybe next time you can do it right." And the Sensei walked away...was that an equivalent to a mic drop?

The ninjas took their places back on the carriage and we left the mines in silence.

The few days became routine. We gathered together and found out where we needed to go- found transportation needed and headed off. The next weapon we sought after were the Shurikens of Ice- obviously they were found at ice temple of sorts. The ninja went in while I stayed behind with Sensei and trained some more. Not on spinjitzu like I would have wanted but it was better than doing nothing.

When the guys returned on an ice cold Zane- we took off again to a large anchor in the sky to retrieve the Nunchucks of Lightning.

The ninja got them in record time, even if the skeletons were closing after them and before long we were on our way to collect the Sword of Fire.

"We'll rest here for the night." Sensei stopped us.

"Finally!" I dramatically fell to the ground.

The guys got around to fixing up some dinner and a small fire and with no warning- started a small party. Kai and Jay were dancing to the beat of Cole's bongos while Zane and I watched in glee. Sensei however did not as inclined as the others to party. "There is still one more golden weapon- we must now get some sleep!"

"Come on Sensei!" Jay grinned. "You gotta admit that we're kicking their boney butts!"

"Get up here! Show us some moves!" Kai yelled.

I grinned. "Yeah Sensei! Do it!"

"Alright...I suppose I can." He got up and balanced on one foot. "Now this move is very special."

"But if done incorrectly could lead to disastrous consequences?" Zane piped up. I laughed while the others congratulated Zane on his joke. Sensei continued to dance in his own corny, grandpa way and while we all laughed- it wasn't long before Kai and Jay started to copy him. This time however I decided to join in their dancing.

After a bit of partying for a little while longer, we decided to get some sleep and I closed my eyes by the fire.

When I woke up again, I was being thrown around and eventually tied up. I tried to call out to the others but the skeletons put a gag over my mouth and hoisted me up into the tree. I was their first victim and they made quick work of both Jay and Zane. Kay and Sensei were nowhere to be found and I couldn't reach into my inventory properly to get my sword. Cole eventually woke up and tried to fight but the skeletons took his weapons and tied him up with the other ninjas.

I continued to struggle and eventually moved the gag out of my mouth. "You guys are going to pay for this!"

"Puny girl! To the Fire Temple!" Samokai yelled out. A shadow appeared by the tire of a car and once it disappeared Samokai yelled. "Change of plans! To the Underworld!"

As they left, Cole spat. "Great, now what?"

"Now we get out of here!" Jay held up one of the skeleton's swords. I managed to wiggle my arm free and pulled out my most powerful sword- it was made out of enchanted diamonds, with both flame aspect and knockback properties. I rarely ever use it but I made an exception this time and cut myself out of the ropes- leaving them to burn away.

The others fell to the ground once Jay cut their own rope and I ran over to them. I tried my best to pull them off of each other and back to their feet. "Come on! They can't get away!"

"Let's go!" Zane picked me up and put me on his back as they started running. The ninjas made their way up into the trees and hopped from branch to branch, catching up little by little. I held onto Zane like my life depended on it. One by one the skeletons started to disappear and the ninja took over the main car.

I started to knock skeletons off of the car while the guys each did their own thing. Samokai took over the vehicle though and blasted it at full speed. I held on to the side of the car and used a small gap in its side as a shield to the wind. I heard the ninjas fall off of the car and at that point I knew I was going to be in some trouble.

With a huge burst of light- I felt as if I was traveling through space and time and got nauseous on the way. They eventually stopped in from of the main building and began to check any and all vehicles for the ninja. In a panic, I pulled out an invisibility potion from my inventory and splashed my foot. I knew that I had successfully turned invisible when one of them looked directly into my face but didn't react at all to be being there.

I had no idea what to do and there were too many skeletons for me to face on my own...at least for me to know that I would be successful. I was completely out of my element and I was scared. This land was so different than what I was accustomed to and frankly, I was already getting a little homesick.

I stayed in my spot- frozen in fear until I heard some familiar screams and looked out to see the ninja falling from above. I grinned and ran out of my spot towards them. "You're here!"

"Ninja!" A skeleton screamed.

I pulled out my diamond sword and took on a fighting stance. "Whoa! Brittany where did you get that?"

"I had it with me the whole time! I made it!" I called back.

We were all faced back to back with the skeletons closing in. "I count there are about ten skeletons per each of us but that's without Brittany." Cole piped up. "I think I like these odds!"

"Don't count me out!" I cried. "I plan on helping!"

"No offence but you don't know spinjitzu!" Cole rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to know it to help." Zane nodded at me.

"Uh-oh." Kai looked up and cringed. "Anyone got any bright ideas?"

I looked up and saw that biggest spiders in existence come down from the top. I gulped. "They aren't this big in Minecraft."

The skeletons got closer and the spiders closed in on us. "Any ideas? Anyone? I'm all ears!" Kai yelled.

Jay tried to say something but no one could understand him with a that damaged voice box of his. The ninja kept guessing but apparently no one could get it right. I gasped and looked at them. "He's saying the Tornado or Creation!"

"Oh…"

Jay ruffled my hair and grinned at me from under his hood.

"Thanks Brittany!" He said it in his normal voice!

"Good to have you back friend." Cole punched his shoulder. "But it could lead to disastrous consequences."

"We're about to have a disastrous consequence." Kai looked around.

I readjusted my grip on my sword. "I can take of myself! Go be ninjas!"

"Let's do this then!" Cole agreed. "Earth!"

"Fire!"

"Ice!"

"Lightning!"

They all proceeded to fall in line with each other and create an even bigger tornado then their usual ones. I jumped out of their way and proceeded to attack the skeletons in their confusion and knocking them into the tornado. As the tornado spun about, it sucked in nearly everything in its path- which unfortunately included me. It was rough getting out of the vacuum but I managed to get away relatively unscathed. When the ninja stopped spinning, a very boney ferris wheel was left in its place. I laughed. "Good job guys!"

"Let's get going! There's no time to waste!" Kai jumped down a hole which was apparently a spiral staircase. I didn't trust myself to make the jump so I skipped every other stair.

The ninja blocked everything in front of us but I could hear the sounds of fighting. They stepped forward but Kai stopped them. "No...this is Sensei's fight."

I could hear Sensei being blasted but Cole was in my way. Eventually I heard the clatter of metal on the floor and gasped, trying even harder to see past the ninja but now I was deliberately stopped. "You don't want to see this Brittany."

"Bring me the four weapons…" A new...deeper voice rang out.

I gasped and clutched onto Cole's gi. "Who's that?"

"Lord Garmadon." Kai whispered back.

"No! You will obey me now!" Samokai yelled.

I moved over to where Jay was and peeked from behind him. A chuckled ran throughout the cave- sending shivers down my spine. A man completely dressed in black sat on a throne, his complexion and stretched smile made him all the more creepy. I gulped when he started speaking. "Selfish fool! Don't you think that I wouldn't have planned on your betrayal!"

Sensei jumped over to where we were. "No one can handle that much power at once."

Garmadon kept on talking though. "You've fallen right into my master plan. Not even I can handle all of their power! But now that they've combined- it'l create a vortex between space and time, allowing me to finally escape this ghastly place!"

Samokai was suddenly raised up into the air and evaporated. A bright light followed and a portal opened with it. Garmadon jumped from where he was and stepped into the portal. I felt compelled to stop him or drag him back...to do something- he was important...but for what...I didn't know at the time. Sensei looked troubled. "Father wouldn't have wanted you to do this brother!"

"Father is no longer here!" Garmadon hissed. "Good and evil- there has always been a balance! Where I go- that balance can be destroyed! Soon I will be strong enough to posses the four weapons, so I may recreate the world- in my image!"

The light from the portal for brighter and we were forced to shield our eyes. Garmadon hissed one last thing before he stepped into the portal. "You...you were always his favorite!"

With that the portal closed and only the golden weapons remained.

"He is gone." Sensei sighed. "But he will return."

"Then we'll be ready for him." Kai picked up the sword.

"And we'll keep an eye out for any more of his evil plans." Cole nodded.

"Then I have done my part." Sensei looked pleased wit the four ninja in front of him. "The balance has been restored...for now."

"So...how do we get back home?" I asked, rolling on the balls of my feet.

"By dragon of course!" Jay cried out.

I grinned. "Dragons?"

"Yeah!"

"Come on...we'll show them to you." Zane took me by the hand and we all left the area with a sense of peace in our hearts,

Sensei got to ride with Cole and I got to ride with Zane. I found out that the dragon ride was much more pleasant than when I was with the skeletons- as crazy as the dragons were.

The ninja dropped me and Sensei off at the monastery while the others went to go see Kai's sister. I wanted to come along but Sensei said he needed my help so I stayed behind. He just wanted me to make room for the people who were going to be living here.

At the end of the day though, Nya came over with the ninja and Zane cooked a glorious feast.

I fell asleep that night- content with both myself and what happened recently.

I'll start looking for my parents first thing in the morning.


	2. Lord Garmadon?

**Chapter 5 - Lord Garmadon?**

Right after the "defeat" of Lord Garmadon, the ninja went straight to work - training with all of their might. Working on getting stronger, faster, better together in case anything were to happen.

But as the days went by with no new news of any disastrous events approaching- they trained less and lacked vigor for any exercising they would have done before. While it wasn't the best thing for them to do for themselves, I had more room to practice my swordsmanship and my archery skills and I had more time to work the training course. There were some days where there was no progress on my abilities but Sensei had me train continuously and unlike the others...I hadn't unlocked spinjitzu yet.

Nya occasionally joined in my training- she would take the training course while I worked on my aim. It was on one of those days where the ninja were slacking off that Sensei had decided to do something about it. On that day however, I was alone in the training area. Sensei furrowed his eyebrows. "Where are the ninja?"

I thrusted my sword towards the dummy. "HA! Playing video games. HIYA!"

I heard the doors close from my side and only seconds later heard the protest of the ninja and them talking to Sensei. I decided to switch from my sword training to the training course and attempted to conquer it. I was past my latest checkpoint when Nya yeled. "Lord Garmadon has returned! He was spotted approaching Jamonikai Village!"

It startled me so much that I fell of of the course."Darn it!"

Not much later, I saw the ninja run past me and out of the monastery- assumably to go get their dragons. Nya, Sensei and I followed them down to the stables and I nearly fell over with giggles. Cole dropped his weapon when he jumped on his dragon, Jay managed to completely overshoot his jump and miss his dragon, Zane managed to get hit by the door coming down and Kai couldn't reach the reigns. Sensei sighed. "One mustn't lose their edge young one." I stopped laughing. "Keep that in mind."

I nodded. "I'll just head back then."

"Will they ever reach their true potential?" Nya asked.

"In time...it may be a long time, but in time."

I giggled and ran all the way back up to start the course again. "Ok…" I took a deep breath and pressed the button. "Can't lose my edge."

I started again and went again and again and again until Nya stopped me. "Can I have a go?"

I nodded in between breaths and sat down to watch her. She almost completed it before she was knocked out of the course. We then took turns switching from one to the other, this only lasted for about twenty minutes before the ninja came back, startling Nya off of the course.

Ja walked up to her and offered her his hand. "Hey Nya...closer to beating your brother's speed record?"

"I almost had it." She sighed. "I heard about what happened in town. So...it was just a false alarm?"

"Yup! But we're going to need the space. Sorry sis!" Kai said, stepping over to the storage closet with Cole.

"What are you doing?" I tilted my head.

"We're going to try something Brittany." Kai pulled a helmet over his head.

"Try what?"

"It's between us guys." Cole ushered me out of the area. "Sorry to kick you out but we wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would we?"

"Can I watch?" They all looked between each other only to reject my idea. I slumped my shoulders, completely dejected. "Fine."

I went inside and sat at the table where Nya was...doing something. "What are you doing?"

She jumped and hid whatever it was behind her back. "Brittany!"

"Yeah?"

"How long have you been there?" She nervously chuckled.

"Not long." I took a step closer. "What-cha got there?"

"Nothing! Don't tell anyone you saw this!" She hid it inside a secret compartment.

I gasped. "Are you a spy?"

She gulped. "No...it's a personal project."

"Do you want to play a game?" I clasped my hand together. "The guys wouldn't let me watch and there's nothing to do!"

"Sure! What game?" She smiled.

I bit my lip and looked down in concentration. "Hide and seek?"

"Alright! Go hide!"

I nodded and ran off- my spot was in the lowest shelf in the closet by Sensei's meditation room. I was only there for a little over five minutes when I heard Sensei leave and start yelling at the ninja. Curious, I left my spot and stood behind Sensei. I tried to not make myself known but Nya snuck up behind me. "Found you!"

I yelped and turned around. Pouting, I said. "No fair! I wanted to see what the ninja did this time!"

"This time?" Zane asked.

"Hey! We aren't that bad!" Jay crossed his arms.

"You kind of are." Nya laughed then ruffled my hair. "Maybe next time Brittany. Now while I would have like to watch my brother get yelled at- I think I'm going to head into Jermonikai village now that there's no danger."

So she left.

I was sent to read on Ninjago's history while the ninja regrouped themselves and trained as the should have been. It wasn't long before I saw the dragons take off again. "I wonder where they're going…"

I sighed and continued reading about my current home. "I haven't even started searching for my parents...and with the ninja always taking care of problems, how can I prove to them that I can tag along?"

I couldn't think of any other solution but to show that I can be like the ninja...that I could help. It might be my only way to head into town and ask around. I continued reading in silence- my eyes growing heavy with each passing second.

When I opened my eyes again, it was morning and I was in my bed. I could hear different yells from the guys outside and that alone encouraged me to get out of my bed. I ate a small breakfast that consisted of only an apple and promptly challenged Kai to a sword fight. All five us were training in the yard with the course on. While I had no idea where Nya was, Sensei came to check up on the noise we were making. Eventually Kai spun away with his spinjitzu- leaving me to either chase after him or fight someone else.

Zane didn't let me have the chance to make a choice though and spinjitzu-ed past me, covering everything in his path with ice. I managed to melt the ice under me using my waterbending but only enough to keep me standing, luckily it went by unnoticed by the others.I've kept my bending to a minimum...I'm not entirely sure why but a part of my told me that I would be better off with them not knowing- we clearly didn't use the same concept when it came to taming our elements so I kept my mouth shut.

The ninja didn't seem pleased with Zane's interruption and joined together. Kai spoke first. "This roof isn't big enough for the five of us."

"Correction." Cole vocally frowned. "This roof isn't big enough for him."

I sighed and stretched my arms a bit as Jay took over. "It's like he's in his own little world! I bet HE CAN'T EVEN HEAR US!"

Zane payed no mind to Jay's comment and continued with what he was doing.

Sensei stepped out and walked towards us. Kai once again spoke first. "Sensei...Zane's weird."

"What is weird? Someone who is different or someone who is different from you?" Was his reply.

"No Sensei." Cole explained. "He's weird-weird."

"Well I like Zane." I spoke up. ' _Not to mention that i'm different to...you guys make the clear everyday,'_

"We like the guy- don't get us wrong Brittany." Kai took off his hood. "He's just...a little off sometimes."

"Zane is a brother." Sensei turned away from watching Zane train. "And brothers are often different, I should know."

The conversation was interrupted by a large gong and the remaining ninja ran to the door screaming. "MAIL!"

I bit my cheek and went back to training, trying to stay out of Zane's way. I knew there wouldn't be anything for me in the mail. The mail guy eventually left, right after Cole ran away with a box he got. Jay and Kai opened their letters but stopped when Zane was passing by. "Hey Zane- why don't you ever hear from your parents?" Jay asked.

"I don't remember by parents." Zane shrugged. **That** caught my attention. "I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember."

I gasped- feeling sad for him. While I currently was an orphan, i knew I had a pair or parents that loved me very much before they died, even if I don't really remember them. Nevertheless- I ran up to him and gave him a big hug. "You're just like me Zane!"

"You mean you've never had a home?" Kai tilted his head.

"Kai! Don't be mean?" I wailed.

"The monastery is your home now." Sensei spoke directly to Zane.

I looked up to meet Zane's eyes. "Yeah Zane! And we're your family! Please don't be sad!"

He smiled a little at me before gently prying me off of him. "We are very much like each other...aren't we Brittany?"

The smile didn't quite reach his eyes though before he walked off and left us alone in the courtyard.

I didn't see Zane for the rest of the day. I had stopped training in the courtyard to retire to my room. From there I practiced my waterbending with a cup of water I borrowed from the kitchen and I practiced moving rocks with what I could find around the monastery. I tried to be as quiet as possible to not be found out but it was a while since I've practiced and today only served as a reminder that I had not just swordplay and spinjitzu to learn.

Time eventually passed and it was time to eat dinner. "MMMM...I love it when it's Zane's night to cook!" Jay had stars in his eyes. I took my seat next to Sensei when Cole spoke up. "I didn't hear any complaints about my duck chowder last night!"

"That's because it glued all of our mouths shut." Kai punched his shoulder.

"Where were you young one?" Sensei turned to me, catching my attention.

"I was in my room…" Not a total lie…"...playing dolls with some rocks I've found." There's the lie.

"Dinner is served." Zane placed a cooked chicken on the table. But we all started to laugh because of his pink apron. I had stopped laughing when I saw the look of confusion on Zane's face. "Is something wrong Zane?"

"I don't understand. Is it something I said?" He looked around.

"No- it's you apron dude!" Kai sputtered out- he was too busy laughing.

"Is there something wrong with wanting to be clean during the duration of preparing a meal?" He tilted his head.

"No! We're laughing because it looks ridiculous!" Cole shook his head, attempting to control his giggles.

"I guess we don't share the same sense of humor." Zane shrugged.

"Well…" Cole shrugged. "How about this?"

Cole then proceeded to pick up a plate and shove the whole thing in Kai's face. Kai tried to look angry but erupted into giggles shortly after. Zane had yet to laugh and Sensei moved from his spot and around the table only to dump a whole bowl of food onto Cole's head. "Now, you are brothers!" Sensei winked at Zane then walked away.

This caused a food fight between the table occupants but it didn't sit right with me. I got out of my seat and ran next to Znae who calmly watched. "I don't think this is funny."

He was a little by little covered in food that was thrown his way. I simply took some food that hadn't been thrown yet and ran away to eat it in my room. I was sad to leave them be but I never liked wasting food. There had already been many times in my life where I didn't have enough food to eat for the next day while on my journey. I felt a little sick but I had no idea what to tell the others.

The food I took wasn't enough so I had to rummage through my rations. In the end though, I was satisfied and went to bed without saying goodnight.

The next day I woke up in time to see off on their next mission. Zane claimed that he found Lloyd's headquarters and left with the others to check it out.

I continued with my usual routine until it was lunch time. Nya made the two of us some sandwiches to eat when Sensei came running in yelling. "The ninja are in trouble!"

Nya stood up. "What?"

"The serpentine have managed to hypnotise Cole- come! We must go!"

"What about me?" I stood up.

"You come along with us- I'm not planning on leaving you here by yourself again." Sensei led us down to the dragons and opened up the gate to Kai's.

"What do you mean by again?" I stood on the dragon's back, holding onto both Nya and the seat.

"We may have left you behind when Jermonikai Village was being attacked." Sensei picked the reigns and we took off in a direction that only Sensei knew.

I blinked and held on a little tighter. "That's why it was quieter than usual!"

When we got close to where we needed to be, a huge tree house came into our view. Sensei took out a really fancy flute and started to play a really pretty tune. Cole stopped fighting the other ninja and looked around in confusion. "What happened? What are we doing?"

"We're getting out of here!" Nya took Cole hand as he jumped onto the dragon. "Hurry! The place is coming down!"

The others followed suit just in time before the whole structure collapsed. "That flute, it cancels their power!"

"It's as old as the serpentine themselves." Sensei put the flute away and retook the reigns. "We must hurry! The monastery is unguarded! Quickly!"

So we flew back as quickly as the dragon could...only to find the entire place in flames.

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as we all got closer. "We're too late." Kai growled. "Those snakes!"

"Rocky!" Cole's eyes widened.

I could hear the dragon's cries from where we were- the whole place was on fire but the dragons were trapped. The second Kai's dragon landed, Cole jumped off and ran to the stables. A few seconds later they flew overhead, now free from the flames.

"Our home…" Kai looked at the mess. I looked up at him and put a hand on his elbow (I couldn't reach his shoulder).

"Shard! Put this out!" Zane commanded his dragon. Not a second later, the flames were out but the damage was done. All that remained was the skeleton of the building.

Tears welled up in my eyes as the information processed in my head Zane was the first to speak. "The training equipment...gone."

Jay cried out next. "Our videogames- gone!"

Sensei growled. "They stole their staff back."

Cole crossed his arms and said. "What do we do now?"

I tuned them out...I left something behind in our rush to save the ninja but now I feared that the snakes might have took off with it. So I ran into the rubble as the others started yelling at each other and maneuvered my way into what was once my room. I turned over things and dug through the frozen ash. It glinted at me, winked at me from the corner of my eye.

My tag.

I dove for it and cleaned it off the best I could. It seemed to be still intact and otherwise unscaved. "Oh thank notch!"

Without missing a beat, I put my tag around my neck and under my shirt. "I'm never taking this off again."

Suddenly I heard the sounds of one of the dragons taking off. It caught my attention so I ran out of the rubble just in time to see Zane flying away. I ran to the others with a heavy heart but was otherwise relieved to see my prized possession intact. "Where is Zane going? Why did he leave?"

"We don't know where he's going Brittany." Nya hugged her hands to her chest- not letting her tears flow.

"But then why-"

"Umm…" Kai started. "We were kinda…"

"We said some things." Jay looked away in shame. "That weren't really nice."

"We were bad friends…" Cole ran a hand through his hair.

That's when my tears started to trickle down my face. "Is he going to came back?"

"We will see." Sensei put a hand on my shoulder and guided me away. "Come now- we mustn't mope about. Let's find a place to stay for the night."

So the rest of us climbed onto the remaining dragons and flew away. We were flying until the sun started to set with no success of finding lodging. The dragons needed to rest and frankly we were all really hungry- so the older ones of the group made the decision to stop by some red rocks- seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Cole and Nya went to go find some food while the rest of us start to make a tarp thing.

I didn't like where this was going, so I took out my pick-axe and started to mining into tone of the sides of the mountain. I was still working on it when Cole and Nya came back with...something… but I kept going until I knew the space was big enough to hold most of us comfortably. When I was done with the mining, i could smell something cooking but I didn't think much on it. "Where's Brittany?" Kai asked but no one replied. "Brittany!"

I ran out of my self-made cave and waved at them. "I'm over here!"

"What are you doing?" Jay raised an eyebrow-staring at my pickaxe.

"I'm making a small cave we could be in!" I grinned. "I just need to put up some torches!"

The others seemed curious as to what I was talking about and followed me back in. I started to put torches in every corner so that there were no dominant shadows. "Whoa…"

I turned to see their shocked faces. "I know it's small but I think it would work for tonight."

"You did this?" Sensei stared at me.

I nodded. "I have my flint and steel but no wood...so I can't start a fire yet, but I thought this could keep some of the wind out."

"There's no way you did this!" Jay stood shocked. "And in so little time?!"

"I'm a Minecraftian...it's in my nature to do these things. My kind are master builders, crafters and we mine on our own most of the time." I shrugged and headed outside. I walked over to their fire and put in my inventory- unknowingly scaring the heck out of everyone else. I plopped the fire onto the floor and smiled. "I've been by myself for some time so I had to know how to make my own shelter. This is old hat for me."

"What are you?" Cole stared at me with his mouth agape.

"I told you! I'm a Minecraftian!" I pouted and bit my lip, trying to find something to change the subject. "What's for dinner?"

"Oh!" Nya ran out and brought back the cooked...animal(?)...from their tarp. "It's roasted mud newt."

Everyone got one on a stick with different reaction from each one of us. Coel was the first to take a bite."Not bad for something that lives underground."

Jay immediately spit it out. "Gross!"

I bit my lip again and brought out my rations of carrots, potatoes and bread. "I know it's not much….but you can have this Jay."

Sensei gasped and frowned. "Where did you get that?"

"I've always had it on me Sensei." I stepped away. "It's food from my homeland...as long as it's in my inventory- it doesn't go bad."

"Who cares?! Gimme!" Jay then snatched it from my hand and ate it.

"Look at you." Kai smiled. "Coming through today for us- aren't-cha?"

I blushed a little and started handing out my rations to each person, mud newt forgotten about. "Like I said...this is old hat for me."

"Wait- so you mean to say that you've lived like this? In the middle of nowhere- with little to eat and by yourself?!" Cole stared at me.

"Yeah...kind of...I didn't use to...but that was a long time ago." I sat down by the fire. "I left my comfy bed to try and find my parents...I've told you this."

"Well-" Sensei sighed. "You've done well today Brittany. Thank you."

I grinned and nibbled on a baked potato while the others ate their food. Occasionally they would send me looks of...pity? No...I don't think that was it but it wasn't the happiest of emotions.

I stood up and stretched. "What do your dragons?"

"What?"

"I have cooked meat on me...beef, chicken lamb...what do they eat? They need food too…"

"How long have you had this?" Nya asked.

"I"ve had it on me since I first met you guys but it was for emergencies only...and it wasn't really needed since I've met you guys. You took care of me...so I thought I should return the favor." I blushed and looked at my feet.

I was scooped up and spun around by the blue ninja. "You are so cute!"

"Just feed them what you have Brittany." Kai smiled at me. "They're not particularly picky."

I giggled as Jay set me down and ran off. "Ok!"

I gave each dragon a chicken and two pieces of beef before I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and screamed. "ZANE!"

I couldn't control myself- I ran up to him and gave him a hug. "You're back! You're back!"

It didn't take long for the others to come outside to investigate and within seconds, Zane was in a giant group hug. Jay was the first to say something. "Zane! We're so sorry for what we said! We're a team- so that means we are all responsible!"

"You don't need to to apologize to me." Zane tilted his head.

Kai disagreed though. "What about all of those awful things we said? Isn't it why you left?"

"Of course not! I saw the falcon again and decided to follow him."

"That's our Zane." Cole grinned.

"We're happy to have you back." Nya stated. W all went in to give him another hug. I wasn't entirely sure that he got the message though. "Why? Is it my turn to make dinner?"

We laughed and I tugged on Zane's arm. "Can you make dinner please?!"

"But I already did!" He smiled. "Come! I want to show you what I found. I think you will all be pleased."

And so we followed him.

Cole gave me a ride on his shoulders for ebing (and I quote) "Little Miss Hero of the Day!" As much as I loved the title, looking back on it, I think it was just because he saw how tired I was.

Zane led us through the desert and suddenly stopped. "I can't explain it but I feel that I have a connection to the falcon. I think he's trying to show us the path that we need to take."

With that in mind, we made a turn and there it was. A huge boat like structure with steam coming out in the front. I gasped. "It looks like a fancy pirate ship!"

Cole took me off of his shoulders and set me down next to Sensei as he stared ahead. Jay broke out in a grin. "Is that pie I smell?"

"Zane nodded. "Cobbler berry! Oh! And I made vergl berry and apple."

Instantly Nya, Jay, Cole and Kai ran down to the ship and went inside. I stayed behind and gave Zane another hug. "Thank you Zane! But don't again, ok? I thought I would never see you again."

"Ok, I won't Brittany." Zane ruffled my hair. "I promise."

"I'm proud of you Zane." Sensei put a hand on Zane's shoulder. "One day we will find your family."

"But Sensei- I've already found them." Zane looked to our friends who were running all over the place- checking it out.

"I feel there's more to you than meets the eye." Sensei admitted. "As with you young one-" He turned to me with a smile. "We will find your family too...one day."

I nodded. "Can I go with them now?"

I pointed to the rest of our group. Once Sensei nodded, I took off running to catch up with what the other were doing.

The day ended splendidly well and we were all happy in our new home. I don't think any of us were prepared for the adventure ahead of us though.


	3. More Snakes

**Chapter 6 - More snakes**

The next day I woke up to Sensei knocking on the door of the bedroom Nya and I shared. Nya answered it while I tried to get a few more minutes of sleep. "I've instructed the ninja to clean and fix this place while I would be gone."

"Where are you going?" Nya asked. I got a out of bed and walked towards the door.

"I'm going to the market." Sensei shrugged. "We'll need more food than what we currently have."

"Can I go too?" I yawned. "As cool as this place looks...I don't think I've gone to town yet."

"If she's going- I want to tag along too." Nya put a hand on her hip. "There are some things I've been needing to buy."

"Alright, we'll leave as soon as you're ready." Sensei started to walk away. "Meet me in the front when you're done."

I nodded and zombie walked to the kitchen. Sensei Wu was right, we really didn't have enough food. God knows how Zane made dinner last night. Nothing we had was really considered breakfast material so I ate a loaf of bread from my rations. ' _Note to self- restock on food.'_

I got ready as fast as I could and met with Nya and Sensei by the entrance to the ship. Together we made our way out and we walked to the nearest market.

There were many people there as expected but unfortunately Sensei didn't really let me out of his sight because of it. Maybe it was because some people wouldn't stop staring at me...maybe...but I couldn't forget why I asked to come! I was gonna start my search!

Every time Sensei finished paying for something, I asked the owner of the stall if my tag looked familiar. It wasn't many stops and each time my questions came back with negative answers. There wasn't much progress but I started...it would have to do for now.

When our trio arrived back at the ship, everything was spotless and worked just as well as any other home. With running water, electricity and no broken floorboards! We all walked in on them playing video games. Immediately I went to sit down next to them to watch. The older ones talked about the improvements but I wasn't paying attention- that was until Nya said. "It looks like we're about to have some visitors...and loud ones at that."

"People are here?" I asked, running to the window.

"Oh!" Jay groaned. "It's my parents. Please- if they start yapping just don't get them going, ok? They don't know when to quit and if you start talking then they'll start talking and the next thing you know, half the day has gone by and it's not even-"

"We get it!" Kai cut him off. "They talk a lot! The cherry doesn't fall far from its blossom."

I giggled and ran out the room. "I wanna go meet them!"

It didn't take long for Jay to start running after me. "Brittany don't!"

Soon, all of us were at the entrance to the ship waiting for the loud car to come to a stop. I was pushed to the side but I made my way back to the front. Jay started to walk out to them but he didn't seem very happy about it. "Mom, dad, what are you doing here?"

"Look! It's my baby boy!" His mom cried out. "It's been so long since we've heard from you."

"Ma- I called you two days ago." Jay sighed.

"Well it's not soon enough son." His dad stepped up and we walked toward each other. "When are you coming out to the junkyard? You say you're coming and -and you don't."

"Dad!" Jay visibly cringed. "Do we have to talk about the junkyard in front of my friends?"

He was dismissed by the wave of his hand by his mother. "He hates it when we tell people he was born in a junkyard. OHH!" She walked up to me and pinched my cheek. "Look at this sugar plum! You've got such pretty hair!"

I rubbed the spot where she pinched me but blushed anyway. I wasn't used to compliments. "Thank you ma'am."

"Look at you! You're sweeter than kitten whiskers!" I giggled politely because I had no idea what that meant. Fortunately (or not) she turned her attention to Nya. "And who are you? You're so cute! You're just my son's type!"

"Mom!" Jay started blushing.

"It's a pleasure meeting you." Nya awkwardly laughed. "I"m sure if he wanted to- Jay could give you a tour. He worked very hard on it."

Both of his parents seemed very happy to hear that. "WE'D LOVE TO!"

So Jay spent the tour of our new home while I slipped away to play some of the ninja's video games. I didn't get to play them often so I wasn't really good but I still found them fun. Before I knew it- it was time to say goodbye to Jay's parents. I walked out with the others to watch them go. I waved my arm back and forth vigorously. "Bye! Come back soon!"

"Bye son! I couldn't be more proud!" His dad yelled.

"And bring Nya when you visit!" His mom yelled next. "I can see why you like her!"

"Mom!" Jay cringed again.

"Now that they have left, perhaps Jay can teach us the art of kissing pillows." Sensei failed to stifle a laugh at the end. ' _Whoa...I missed out on something.'_

Jay groaned and left while the other laughed at the joke. While the other were settling in, I stayed up to use the training area to keep up my progress on spinjitzu. Next thing I knew, I had not only skipped dinner but it was completely dark out, except for the lit lights that were inside. I was startled out of my concentration by Sensei's unexpected words. "It's a bit late, don't you think?"

"Sensei!" I nervously laughed. "I didn't see you there."

"Don't overwork yourself Brittany." He ruffled my hair. "You'll get there in your own due time."

"I know Sensei." I smiled. "I lost track of time, I'm sorry. I'll go to bed now."

"You're not going to eat?" He blinked.

"I'm not really hungry but I'll have a pb and j before I sleep."

Sensei seemed satisfied with my answer. "Very well Brittany. Good night."

"Good night Sensei Wu."

And so I did just that! I was out like a light the second my head hit the pillow and my bad was suddenly a lot comfier than the night before. The next morning, the other 3 ninjas were pestering Jay about visiting his parents. He claimed that while he did promise to go visit them- he couldn't. Not yet. He said he had too much on his plate. That was until Nya came in and asked him about it. The he said that he was just about to leave.

I looked to the faces of the others and laughed so hard my milk came out my nose.

"What?" Jay shrugged. "There's not **that** much on my plate."

So off he went- but his dragon wasn't doing so hot. Sensei said that they were molting and needed to head east to change into their final form.

I was sad to see them go but I hoped they would be back. "OH well!" Jay said walking up to Nya. "I guess I have to go the long way...all by myself...it would be great if I had some company."

"Sure Jay! We'll go with you!" Kai intervened.

"All you had to do was ask." Cole jumped in.

I gasped. "Are we all going to see Jay's parents?"

"It appears so." Sensei nodded.

"YAY!"

On the walk there, Sensei kept playing the old, magic flute. Jay groaned about the loss of their rides and Cole once again put me on his shoulders. "Aren't I heavy Cole?"

"Don't even feel it Pinkie" Cole winked. "Super strength, remember?"

I shrugged, it meant less walking for me. "Whatever you say Cole."

"That flute-" Zane walked by Sensei's side. "-you never told us why it was so special."

"Long ago there were many flutes." Sensei started his story. "Created to combat the powers of the Serpentine and seal them underground. But over time Ninjago's forgotten its ancestors wisdom and this is the only one."

"I get the lesson." Jay took the lead of the group. "Respect your elders or else suffer the consequences. Boy you guys are laying it on thick!"

Sensei chuckled and stopped playing the flute. "Perhaps you are only hearing what you need to hear."

I don't think Jay heard him say that though, he was too focussed on the entrance of the junkyard. Nya walked up next to him. "What is it?"

"It's quiet." Jay frowned, the others got the message and pulled on their hoods (Cole had to put me down first). "My family's never quiet!"

So we all ran into the junkyard, looking for Jay's parents. They were trapped inside an old fridge with their mouths taped over and chains around their bodies. Jay's mom look relieved. "Oh sweetheart you came!"

Jay's dad on the other hand looked only more troubled. "You gotta get out of here! You shouldn't have come- it's the sssnakes."

"The bite of the Fangpire! Once they sink their teeth, their venom can turn anything into a serpent. It's only a matter of time before the full transformation is complete." Sensei Wu shook his head. He was right though- Jay's parents were green and had fangs- his dad was about to grow a tail. I suddenly didn't feel so good.

Suddenly we were all surrounded by red and white snakes and possessed wrecking ball that had a face. A FACE! Cole seemed to be just as distraught about it as I was. "Is that wrecking ball staring at me?"

I pulled out my bow and fired an arrow at the driver of the crane. I missed and had to hit the dirt...as in literally hit the dirt. Zane had to push me out of the way before the wrecking ball hit out group. "Thanks Zane!"

Sensei frowned. "Lloyd!"

"Hello uncle!" A kid dressed in black walked out with what I assumed to be the leader of the Fangpire. He looked a little like Garmadon but was just in how he was dressed. "I can see this isn't the only family reunion! I'm glad you brought the ninja - I could use some help in taking out the trash!"

Then he faked an evil laugh.

That's when I got to thinking. ' _This is the kid that's been messing things up for us? SCratch that, for Ninjago? I think I'm older than him...or at least the same age.'_

"If we want to turn your parents back- then we need to get the anti-venom from the staff!" Nya pointed to where Lloyd was.

"Second dose!" Cole yelled. "To the dirt!"

We all jumped out of the way again and I snuck away to go behind the snakes. Even if I didn't know spinjitzu- I wanted to help. I saw the ninja running from a statue with nunchucks as I made my way up the tire mountain. At the top was Lloyd and the leader with -my target- the anti-venom.

Taking out my most powerful sword - I slashed at the tire making the whole thing shake, light aflame and start to fall over. Before I could get close enough though, Lloyd yelled. "Retreat!"

A possessed helicopter came in to pick the two up but I ran over to them and grabbed the staff. In their shock I slashed the mountain again as I went down. The two of them had to leave behind the staff and get on their getaway ride. Without missing a beat I jumped off the tire mountain before it completely collapsed. Nya cried out. "They're getting away with the staff!"

I grinned and jumped down in front of them. "No he's not!"

"But how?" Zane took it away from me.

I felt both euphoric and winded. "I used the most important element in a ninja! The element of surprise!"

"Well done Brittany!" Sensei congratulated me. "But now we need to prepare it!"

"How are we going to do that?" Jay threw his arms in the air. "We don't have the right stuff here and our house is on the other side of the desert!"

"Anything in your pockets Brittany?" Kai nudged my shoulder.

I sighed and pouted. "No, not this time. Sorry."

"There's still a way." Sensei continued. "Part of reaching your true potential is understanding your weapons potential. Once it is in tuned with a focused heart- its secrets and powers can be unlocked."

"Now's not the time to be cryptic!" Jay groaned.

"No Jay-" Zane took out his shurikens. "- he's saying that our weapons could be used as vehicles."

Kai cringed looking at his sword. "Don't tell me I have to ride this like a broom stick."

"Jay concentrate on unlocking your golden weapon. Let your heart guide you! Imagine you are taking flight." Sensei gave Jay the last bit of help he needed.

After performing a series of moves, Jay was covered in a flash of light which dimmed to reveal a personal jet. He clearly thought it was the coolest thing ever and frankly, so did I. The other ninjas the proceeded to do a similar show with their respective elements and then came the same result. Nya then gave Jay the staff. "Head out to the bounty as fast as you can! We're counting on you to make the tea to help your parents!"

So off the four of them went!

"Sensei!" I ran up to him. "Does your flute turn into anything?"

He sighed and put it down. "I wish."

"Here!" Jay's dad ran out from our group. "We'll just take the car!"

We all agreed on the idea and we took off with Nya as the designated driver. While we were on our way back home we saw the ninja battle with the snakes and their lack of travel methods. Without their concentration- their weapons wouldn't have worked so they joined us in the car and we sped away with the Fangpire hot on our heels.

All of us ran into the ship as fast as we could- Nya took Jay's parents to de-transform them while the guys went to the bridge of the ship to "man the battle stations". As the Fangpire closed the distance between us- Jay wanted to try his fancy button that I wasn't allowed to touch. In the panic of the button not working, Jay's dad (now no longer a snake) walked up to him and convinced Jay to let him see what was wrong. A few seconds later when Jay tried the button again- the whole ship rocked and teetered- and TOOK OFF INTO THE AIR!

During the rough transition though- Nya managed to drop the staff over the railing of the ship...and we lost it. But I supposed it wasn't so bad- we got what we needed.

We stayed in the air for a couple of hours to make sure we lost their trail and frankly to waste time so we could return Jay's parents to their house in the junkyard. I looked out the window to see Jay talking to his parents. It seemed to be a short shat though because it wasn't long before they were all hugging.

I felt a small sting in my heart when I saw that. "I wonder what my parents are like."

"I wouldn't sweat it too much kiddo."

I jumped out of my skin! That was not ok! "KAI!"

"We'll find them- we'll help you." Kai wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "You're a part of our family too, alright?"

"I know Kai." I smiled at him.

"We'll find them I promise!"

I grinned from ear to ear. "Pinkie promise?"

He snorted and stuck out his pinkie. "Pinkie promise...does this have to do with-"

"No. That was not a pun regarding my hair."

"Alright, alright! Come on! Let's go eat!" Kai lead me further inside the ship and into the dining room.

A few days had passed since then and things ...almost went back to normal. Sensei put more of his attention on the ninja than on me...and to be honest that bugged me a bit.

Ok- it bugged me a lot. But what could I do? The ninja's were the hero's, not me. Things got boring those days though. When the ninja went out, so did Nya (although I didn't know what she went) and Sensei was too old to play any games with me.

On one of those day though, Sensei invited me to join the ninja on one of their lessons. I happily agreed and stood next to Zane that morning.

"You're a little slow today Zane?" Kai laughed. "What exactly did you dream about?"

"I saw the falcon again."

"Whoa- Zane! Every time you see that falcon, something big happens!" Jay shouted.

I looked behind me and saw Sensei walk out onto the deck. "Good morning Sensei!"

"Good morning young one. Alright- stretches!" He cut off the ninja's conversation. "First the swooping crane."

We copied his position but I wobbled a bit from side to side. I wasn't very good at balancing on one leg...I wasn't a flamingo you know! Err...crane…

"This time it showed me the green ninja!" Zane whispered- attempting to continue their earlier conversation.

"THE GREEN NINJA!"

I bit my lip and kept my position. I wanted to join in and ask but nobody told me anything about this green ninja...and I didn't want to look silly if I asked about it.

"That looks like the shocked monkey. Bad form!" Sensei sighed. "More focus!"

Sensei turned around- resuming the lesson. Jay took this as an opportunity to keep talking! "You can't just drop a bomb like that Zane. Spill the beans!"

"Yeah, what did you see?"

"Shhh!" I tried to stop them. "You're going to get in trouble."

I was ignored though. Zane started to describe his dream. "He was fighting Lord Garmadon."

"That's what the prophecy said!" Kai nodded. "That the green ninja would defeat the dark lord! But did you have a chance to see which one of us is him?"

"Yeah! Did you see?" Jay and Cole egged him on.

Now I was interested. It wasn't a lot of information but I now knew more than I ever learned listening to these guys.

"I wasn't sure." Zane frowned. "He possessed attributes that each one of us has."

"Now! Pinching crab!" Sensei changed his position. I felt silly like this and frankly didn't do as well as I should have.

"Tell us everything!" Kai said. "And don't spare any details, there's got to be at least one clue that could say which one of us is the- OW OW OW OW OW!"

Sensei let go from pulling Kai's hair, clearly not impressed with his students. "What is so important to ignore my teaching?"

Every ninja denied all claims but I stayed silent. Sensei didn't buy what they were saying at all. "Since you all appear to be lacking in focus, you can all share the punishment."

I winced "I told you so."

The guys tried to protest but Sensei wasn't hearing any of it. "No free time and no video games! The day can be used for training...and tomorrow for that matter!"

"Training?" Kai groaned. "But for how long?"

"Until you can answer the riddle. What is the best way to defeat an enemy?"

"Easy!" Kai did a flip. "With a sword!"

"Your fist!"

"Spinjitzu!"

"Tornado of creation?"

I sighed. "Can that be done without fighting?"

Sensei sighed as well. "Pace yourselves. You have a lot of training ahead of you- you must sharpen your mind as well as your spinjitzu." The guys deflated and started to get to work. "For what it's worth- Brittany might have a sharper mind than you four...this is your only clue."

I perked up and grinned. "Really?"

"What?" Jay frowned. "No offence Brittany..we love you and all, but you're still just a kid."

I frowned as well, a little hurt by the comment. "I just don't see the point in fighting for something other than survival."

"What's the best way to defeat an enemy?" Cole sighed, picking up a staff to train with it. "It could be anything."

"Well- we're smart guys! We can figure this out!" Jay jumped on the equipment. "It's just not with fighting right?"

They all started to train until Sensei closed the door and was gone. The ninja then all went to Zane and asked about the dream. I frowned and ran after Sensei, still thinking about his "riddle". I found him just as he started meditating. "Sensei?"

"What is it young one?" Have you thought of an answer?" He stood up.

"Kind of?" I bit my lip. "Why couldn't you just be nice to them...to your enemy? Then they wouldn't want to fight you. And then they're technically not your enemy anymore."

"Do you know what that's called?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

I fiddled with the edge of shirt and thought. "Wouldn't it be easier if you were friends?"

"Exactly!" He smiled. "The best way to defeat an enemy is by becoming their friend."

I grinned and Sensei patted my head. "You are a good kid- you are free from training for today."

"Thank you Sensei!" I ran out of the room and went to the video games room. I turned on the system and started to play. "I'll train later- when the guys are either done or gone." I've already trained with them at the same time and it didn't end well for me. I've learned my lesson and I'm not training with them again.

I was about to beat level twenty when the alarm start to go off. It scared me so much that I died and lost the level. Blowing a raspberry, I ran to the bridge, meeting up with everyone else. Jay was the first to notice me. "Brittany! Where were you? Weren't you supposed to be training with us?"

"I solved Sensei's riddle." I shrugged.

"What?!" They screamed.

"Focus on that later." Nya groaned. "Right now, people need help."

"She's right." Kai nodded to Zane who flipped a switch and pushed Jay's fancy button. The ship then flew off and the ninja left to prepare themselves on deck. On the way there Cole transformed his scythe into his cool car and started to tinker with it. It wasn't long before we made it to where we needed to go.

I went with Nya and Sensei to the bridge and watched the ninja climbed onto the anchor of the ship and fell into a school. "The guys get to have all the fun."

"I hear ya sister." Nya sat down.

"So now what?" I sat on the floor, crossing my legs.

"We wait for the ninja to finished their job." Sensei started to walk out of the room.

"That's all we ever do!" I pouted and ran out of the bridge. "I'll wait for them outside then!"

So I stood there, looking over the railing and watched them fight. "They actually look pretty cool fighting like that." About 20 minutes later Sensei and Nya joined me when we lowered to the school's height. "Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon!" Sensei yelled. "You get over here this instant!"

Jay then picked the kid up and walked onto the ship with Lloyd slung over his shoulder, kicking and seemingly scared out of his mind. The other three ninja then started talking about how Lloyd could be punished but Sensei took the reins on this case. "I know exactly what to do with him."

I followed Jay and Lloyd, wanting to get the know the kid better. The others steered clear of him though, much to Sensei's displeasure. "I'm Brittany."

"Lloyd."

"How old are you?" I tilted my head. Jay left us alone in what was going to be Lloyd's room. "Be careful Brittany." He left saying. "I'm eight years old." Lloyd crossed his arms. "Now go away! You're with the ninja and the ninja are my enemies!"

I frowned. "But I want to be your friend...I don't have a lot of friends my age."

"I'm not going to be friends with a girl!" Lloyd stuck his tongue out. "And you look weird too! No one has pink hair!"

"But I do…" I bit my lip and started to leave. "I'll go if you want me to but I don't want to be your enemy."

I then left before Lloyd could say anything else. I avoided everyone else for the rest of the day until dinner time, when I was forced to sit next to Lloyd. I looked down at the table and didn't say anything. "Brittany?" Kai asked. "Is everything alright?"

I nodded and forced a smile. "I"m ok...just thinking...about my parents."

Ok- that was a lie but I wasn't going to tell them that Lloyd hurt my feelings. I thought that the parent issue would be more believable. Lloyd however did not know that issue. "Your parents? They aren't here?"

I shrugged. "I don't know where they are. I've been looking for them for a little less than a year now."

Lloyd suddenly looked very serious and sad. "I don't know where my parents either."

I put on a sad smile. "We can find them together then!"

"O-ok!" He looked away while I started to eat my food. It was Jay's night to cook and we were having tacos!

I didn't think we would have any more problem with Lloyd after that day.


	4. The snakes join forces

**Chapter 7 - The snakes join forces**

The next few days were peaceful. I got the training grounds to myself again and managed to beat my record and then best my new one so I was feeling pretty confident in my agility. Lloyd even apologized for what he said when he first got here! Things seemed to be going great...until I heard the ninja yelling at each other.

Curious, I went to investigate and followed Sensei inside their room. Sensei opened a side door to show Lloyd laughing by some materials. It was at this point that I felt like I was once again missing out on something here. "YOU DID THIS?!" They yelled.

"Boys- I get first dibs on-"

"No dibs!" Sensei cut Cole off. "I put him up to this for today's lesson. I wanted to show you the destructive power of rumors and that jumping to conclusions can only lead to trouble."

I tilted my head and looked at Lloyd. He had a smug look on his face and I was glad that I was not included in this lesson. The ninja did not look happy. Sensei kept talking anyway. "Did you ever think to check if the accusations were true?"

"Uh- no offence Sensei but let me jump to this conclusion." Cole rolled his eyes. "Today's lessons sucks."

"Yeah, why don't you teach us how to paralyze your enemy with one finger? Or find out that a man is lying by the twitch of his nose?" Jay crossed his arms.

"Because not everything is about fighting!" Sensei sighed. "And I've misplaced my lesson book."

Kai looked at Lloyd for a second before walking up to him and pulling out Sensei's lesson book from behind his back. "You mean **this** lesson book?"

"It was the perfect plan!" Lloyd groaned. "Until you had to show up and mess everything up-"

Cole closed the door, trapping me and Lloyd behind it. "Hey!" I yelled. "Let me out at least!"

They didn't listen to me and I had to move the door myself. It only worked one way so I had to struggle to get it open. "Hey- if you guys are done fooling around- we still have a snake problem to attend to." Nya's voice came over the intercom. "Over and out."

"OK- it's one thing to let the son of your arch nemesis live with you but my sister here? I mean come on! And Brittany too! I thought this was supposed to be a **ninja** headquarters!" Kai yelled.

"You do know I can still hear you, right?" Nya didn't sound pleased. "Over and out!"

Lloyd and I finally stepped out of where we were trapped and I looked at Kai. "Thanks."

I then walked out of the room and onto the training grounds, I didn't feel like listening to their next plans this time. It's not like I was needed anyway- they always made that clear. I watched as the ninja jumped off the side of the ship and figured that I could go back in. Nya looked as if she was about to leave as well. "Where are you going Nya?"

She jumped and spun around. "I just need to check on something. I'll be back- watch Lloyd for me?"

I nodded and found Lloyd playing video games. "Can I play?"

"These are two easy! How can they find these fun?" He groaned.

"Because they either plan as a team or against each other. It's more fun with more people." I sat down and took a controller. "You'll see! Restart the level!"

We played a bit until Sensei called us to the bridge. "The ninja need our help."

Sensei steered the ship over what looked like four unconscious ninjas. We managed to get them onto the ship and wake them up...hours later though.

When we were eating dinner- Jay decided they should tell the story. "And then just as we were about to bite it- a huge mechanical robot-"

"Samurai." Zane interrupted. "It was a samurai."

Lloyd and I didn't understand. "Samu-what?"

"Samurai." Sensei nodded to Zane. "Highest level of warrior class. They would protect nobility and serve with honor on the battlefield."

"He was over one hundred feet high with weapons coming out of every angle. Look at Sensei's beard- it's dancing!" Kai still hadn't recovered from the venom from the Venomari.

"Ok- when does this stuff wear off?" Nya sighed. "It's getting annoying."

"I think it's karma for what he said earlier." I giggled.

Kai then took some of his food from his plate and stuck it on his face. We weren't...really...sure why…

Cole the brought the conversation back on track and mentioned something among the lines of the Great Devourer. Unfortunately, I wasn't really paying attention. I was trying to see if Kai would do anything else, but he just stared at the wall in front of him without moving a muscle.

"Oh man!" Lloyd groaned. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't open the first hatch, none of this would have happened."

"We cannot change what has been done." Sensei looked at everyone. "But we can affect the future! At least we still have the flute-"

"About that…" Zane looked a little sheepish. "Pythor stole the flute."

"The last sacred flute? GONE?!" Sensei then looked very serious. This conversation now had my full attention. "You four are Ninjago's last hope."

The alarm then started to go off startling everyone. We all went to the bridge to check out what was wrong. All five tribe were congregating in Ninjago- causing the ninja to run out and try to stop them. I managed to see them off and catch Zane in his pink ninja gi- if the situation wasn't so dire, I would have laughed. He looked good in pink but it just wasn't his color.

I stayed up and watch the bridge for the ninja to return. They were jumping into the middle of all the snakes tribes combined, I was worried for them. I just couldn't sleep knowing they were out there but exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep on the railing. I was woken up by someone picking me up and carrying me. "No...don't…"

"I got you Pinkie." It was Cole. "You should have just gone inside and waited- it's cold out here."

"Please put me down." I yawned. "The cold doesn't really bother me so I wanted to wait for you guys."

Cole chuckled and ruffled my hair. "You're a good kid- come on, let's go inside."

I nodded and followed him in. I was fully awake by the time everyone was gathered by the table...you know, to talk about what just happened. Cole sat down- joining the conversation. "It's just like you said Sensei, we used the destructive power of rumors to our advantage.

"You know, I don't think we would have been able to get out of there if it wasn't for Zane." Jay scratched his head.

"Don't thank me, thank Lloyd." Zane grinned. "If it wasn't for him and his laundry skills, we all would have been found."

Just then Lloyd came in with Zane's clothes, completely washed and white again. "It took 20 cycles but I managed to fix your clothes Zane."

Lloyd put Zane's clothes next to him. "And to show that I'm sorry Cole, I got you a can of nuts."

Cole didn't buy it, saying that a bunch of rubber snakes were going to jump out and went to the fridge. When he opened it though, that's where the rubber snakes were hidden and they jumped all on top of him. Everyone was laughing and when everyone calmed down, I looked around and asked. "When I get better and learn spinjitzu, do you guys think I can take Zane's title as the pink ninja?"

"Of course Brittany." Jay threw an arm around my shoulder. "We wouldn't want it any other way."

I grinned and went to bed quite happy knowing that...I'll join them on their adventures… eventually.

The next morning we were all gathered for breakfast. Lloyd was talking about how he would win against a snake if he had to fight one, only for all the guys to completely reconstruct his argument. Sensei walked in with a box and sat down in his usual spot. Lloyd groaned at the ninja's arguments. "Uncle? What's the best way to defeat a serpentine if you don't know what kind they are?"

"Sadly- that was the sacred flute you four carelessly lost." Sensei sighed.

Jay jumped to defend himself and his friends. "No, no, no, no, no, no,- we didn't lose it! Pythor stole it!"

"Whatever the case- without it I fear we have nothing to combat their powers."

I sighed and tried to think of something but to no avail. "I wish I could be be of more help but this is completely out of my element. All I know is how to fight skeletons, zombies, spiders and creepers...and the occasional human."

"Don't worry Brittany." Kai smiled. "You just keep training and focus on getting to unlock your spinjitzu- you shouldn't have to worry about this."

I forced a smile on my face. "What's in the box Sensei?"

"Just their new uniforms." Sensei took out one for each ninja.

Each guy jumped up to grab their own box. "They have armor!"

"I love the gold highlights!"

Lloyd looked a little dejected. "Anything for me?"

Sensei then panicked a little and looked around. "You get...uhh...the box?"

I walked up to Lloyd and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't think too much on it. You get used to it."

Sensei didn't appear to like my comment but he didn't say anything. As the guys took in their uniforms- the alarm went off again. This time the snakes were terrorizing the biggest amusement park in Ninjago. Lloyd wanted to go but was shut down. "Can I go? Can I go? Please! Let me make it up!"

"No Lloyd. You will stay here where it's safe." Sensei nodded.

He pouted. "Ninja get to have all the fun." Nya and I shared a knowing look.

Nya left to do...whatever she was doing before the ninja even left the ship. Sensei said he was going to head down and watch the ninja- leaving just me and Lloyd on the ship. "I hate this."

Lloyd threw down the controller while I paused the game. "It's not so bad Lloyd. We just need to prove ourselves to them that we can help. Until then though, we need to make sure we can protect ourselves...then others. Come on- let's do something else."

"Like what? There's nothing to do!"

I shrugged. "Let's find something to do."

We didn't have to wait long- as it turned out, the Samurai took care of the issue before the ninja ever did. They didn't look too bothered by it so I shook it off. As the days went by though and the snakes sightings started to become more frequent, the Samurai beat them to the punch every single time.

It was on one of these days where Kai was supposed to keep an eye on the two of us but we were ditched at the front of an arcade. "Look I know I'm supposed to be looking after you- but just play a few games and stay in one place, ok? Brittany you're in charge."

"Aye aye captain!" I gave a mock salute as Kai handed Lloyd the coins for the arcade.

"Let me help!"

"No." Kai's decision was final.

Lloyd groaned. "You could have at least dropped us off at a decent arcade."

"Sorry shorty!" Kai teased as he drove off, leaving us in the dust.

We were about to head into the arcade but we started hearing some voices. Lloyd suddenly took off to investigate and I could only follow. We some serpentine talking to each other and argue for a bit before settling the issue. I stayed watching, trying to not get myself caught when Lloyd came back to my side with fake fangs, a weird hat and rad glasses with maracas in his hands. I caught on to what he was planning to do and grabbed his shoulder. "No- that's a bad idea! Don't do it Lloyd!"

"You told me we need to prove ourselves to the ninja that we can help. I can take care of myself." I stated proudly.

"No offence but I doubt that."" I bit my lip. "What if you get caught?"

"I'm not going to get caught!"

With that he walked away and rushed to meet up with the snakes. I started panicking and came to the conclusion that he shouldn't go alone. I looked into my inventory and rank another invisibility potion. With the desired effect in place, I ran after Lloyd just in time to sneak onto the bus and sit next to Lloyd. "We are so dead."

"Brittany?" Lloyd sat up.

"Shh." I shushed him, sitting next to him as the bus started to drive away. "Don't be so loud. Pretend I'm not here. Kai said that I was in charge so I have to be with you in case there's trouble."

"Oh...ok...why can't I see you?" Lloyd lowered his voice to a whisper.

"I'm invisible. Now we can't talk to each other but just know that I'm here ok?" I took a deep breath to calm my heart.

The bus ride lasted for hours and when we reached our destination, it was already dark out. The city we ended up in was huge and looked ancient. It was the new main HQ of the serpentine.

I looked to Lloyd in slight fear but said nothing. We were ushered out of the bus and into the stands to watch all four tribe leaders take on Pythor at once. Pythor then cheated through use of the sacred flute and played it in front of the other leaders to take their staff's away to win the title of leader and unite the snakes. When Pythor commanded the serpentine to bow down to their new master- Lloyd's dropped the maracas and was found out.

He tried to run away but was caught by the back of his hoodie. "Where do you think you're going?"

I gasped and kicked the snake in the face, forcing him to let go of Lloyd. He didn't get very far though and was taken away before I could follow without being caught myself. When I saw him again, he was completely surrounded by snakes and stuffed into a cage. I ran out to meet him but the potion wore off, revealing my presence. "Uh-oh!"

I tried to fight my way out but soon I was overpowered and stuffed into the same cage as Lloyd. "Sorry Lloyd...I tried."

"They didn't hurt you, did they?"

I held back a tear and nodded. "But I'll be fine...I've taken worse hits before."

We both ignored what they were saying afterwards and huddled for warmth. The desert got cold overnight- I could only imagine the hat of the day. Morning eventually came by and Lloyd and I woke up by what looked to be the snakes draggin in the samurai. I gasped and watched as they locked him away.

Nothing really else happened after that so Lloyd and I could only wait. We were startled by a loud sound and when I looked over, I saw the ninja trapped in a cage, their weapons strewn out just beyond their reach. I sighed and leaned on the bars of the cage. "We're doomed."

Lloyd gasped and held a hopeful look on his face. "The ninja!"

They were taken out of the cage and forced to be on the battle arena. The poor guys looked as confused as ever- even more so when they saw who they were fighting. I frowned and looked away. "I can't watch this."

Pythor didn't miss a beat at all and said. "I want to see once and for all who is the better hero! Is it the ninja or the Samurai?!"

I could hear the sounds of a fight going on but I covered my eyes and waited for it to be over. I was scared- I didn't know what was going to happen.

When I did open my eyes- I saw the ninja on the back of the Samurai suit being blasted away. The Samurai then flew around the area before stealing the golden weapons and leaving. Before he left though- he gave a mock bow to a very angry Pythor and left. I looked to Lloyd and let the a few tears fall. I was forced to accept that we probably weren't going to be rescued anytime soon.


	5. Reunion

**Chapter 8 - Reunion**

Days had passed and Lloyd and I were starting to lose hope...well he was. I sighed and sat down from where I was standing. "It's really hot today."

"Do you really think they're coming?" Lloyd sighed as well.

"I know they're coming." I said, determined to not lose hope. "I just...don't know when."

We continued just existing in silence and fanned ourselves for relief from the scorching heat. It wasn't until about two hours later that Lloyd broke the silence. "Look...I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. You were right and now you're trapped here too."

"At least we have each other." I smiled...even if it was weak. "Don't think too much on it- I already forgave you. Besides the ninja know where we are now."

"Yeah…" He didn't seem too convinced.

Suddenly a snake came by and yanked Lloyd out of the cage. We both screamed. I tried to get Lloyd away from them but was pushed back into my prison. "Lloyd! What are you planning to do?!"

"We jussst need the boy for a moment. Don't fret- we'll bring your little boyfriend back." It hissed.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I banged on the bars. "Don't you dare hurt him!"

The snakes ignored me and took Lloyd away. I didn't see him for the rest of the day or the day after that. The realization of my current situation dawned on me and I cried for what was probably the umpteith time. When Lloyd returned, he looked not only shaken up but sad. I gasped and a hug, checking for any noticeable injuries. "Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"

"No...I'm fine."

"What happened?" I sat back down.

"They used me to get one of their fang blades but it was gone. We're going to be stuck here a little longer." Lloyd sighed.

I frowned but didn't say anything.

Even more time had passed between then and when we were first trapped. By now we had lost all hope and simply waited for when something new would happen. The snakes were gaining power and there was nothing we could do. I didn't even have an Ender Pearl to teleport out of the cage...and I didn't know how to use commands. Without warning, the snakes took our whole cage, one day and carried it to the fire temple. We were hung with little to no effort on the snakes part. "And now we wait." Pythor laughed.

The snakes underneath us started digging and soon dug up the third fang blade. Pythor changed his field of view then suddenly yelled. "ATTACK!"

Lloyd and I looked up and saw the ninja with Sensei and … Garmadon? What was he doing here? Each side started to fight each other for the fang blade. I stood up and grabbed the bars, feeling a grin take over my face. "GO NINJA GO!"

Little by little the ninja started gaining ground but then Kai pulled out his sword- igniting the whole volcano. I gulped and looked through my inventory, pulling out two fire resistant potions. I drank one and gave the other to Lloyd. "Drink this."

"What is it?"

"A fire resistant poti- tea. If were to get burned, we wouldn't get hurt at all." I looked over, incredibly nervous now.

The snakes started drilling through the volcano- causing it to start falling to pieces. Someone picked up the cage with the two of us in it and started ti carry us away. Lloyd looked down and cried out. "DAD!"

Garmadon then started to jump up and chase the cage. Pythor noticed that he was getting close and growled. "Lose the children, we have no use for them anyway!"

We were then swung over and positioned over the lava...only be dropped down. Little by little, the lava started rising just like Lloyd's panic. I was calm, knowing that I drank the potion, even if my circumstance was out of the ordinary even for me. Garmadon then fought his way up and lifted the cage so that Lloyd and I landed on the steps. Lloyd clutched onto his dad while I tried to not fall off the edge. Kai ran right past us- attempting to steal the fang blade Pythor possessed. Cole tried to convince him otherwise. "Kai don't! This place is going to collapse any second now!"

"Well then I better be quick!"

I ran to the other and hugged on tightly to the first one I could reach. The person picked me up and ran with me until we were by the entrance and away from Kai. Everyone else was waiting there and I was set down again but Kai kept going forward. Jay took a step forward and yelled. "Kai forget about it! It's not worth your life!"

"Not without the fang blade!"

"We have to go!" Garmadon hissed.

"But what about Kai?" Lloyd turned around. We gave a quick look to each other before calling out. "KAI!"

What we didn't realise was that the ground underneath us started falling. As a reflex I tried to jump back but my footing missed. I then tried to catch myself by climbing up, onto spin onto the platform. When my small pink tornado disappeared, I fell over on my butt. "Did I just-"

"Lloyd!"

My friend fell down to the lava (thankfully not in it) and screamed for his dad. We had to step back and watch as the volcano completely fell apart before our eyes. I gulped and prepared to run off the edge. Just when I was about to jump, Zane caught my arm and held me back. "Let me go! I can save Lloyd!"

"Dad! I'm sinking!" Lloyd called out again.

"Let me go Zane!" I tried to push him off but my time captive left me weak and frankly, Zane was incredibly strong. "I can do it! The lava won't hurt me!"

"And if you get crushed?" Cole's voice cut in.

"We have to get out of here, or else none of us will get out of here alive!" Sensei said. Instinctively we all started backing up, Garmadon was not pleased. "But about my son?"

And to be honest, neither was I. "Lloyd! Kai!"

I had to be carried out of the volcano just like how Garmadon had to be pushed out. We eventually made it back to the deck of the ship and watched as we pulled away, how the fire temple was crumbling. Then from the top of the volcano something shot out and flew towards our ship. When ti got close enough, we could see **who** it was. Jay gasped. "It's Kai! He found his true potential!"

He then dropped Lloyd onto the deck and the flames around him burned out.

Without missing a beat, Kai then collapsed onto the floor. I cried and went to go hug them both. "You're ok!"

"Yeah...thanks to Kai! Dad!" Lloyd then ran to Garmadon and gave him the biggest hug he could muster.

I punched Kai on his arm as hard as I could. "Don't you ever do that again? Do you hear me?!"

He chuckled and rubbed his arm. "I promise. I won't do that again."

I smiled as new tear ran down my face and hugged him around him neck. "I'm still mad at you! But I'm glad you're ok!"

Garmadon then turned to our group and said. "Thank you...Kai."

Zane then asked. "How did you survive? How did you find the key to unlocking your powers?"

"I knew when I had to make a choice- I wanted the fang blade so badly. To prove I was good enough to become the green ninja but then I figured it out. All of my training to become the best ninja wasn't in preparation to become the green ninja...it was to protect him." Kai pointed at Lloyd.

We all looked at Lloyd...not entirely sure what Kai meant but we all ran with it. Or maybe that was just me? The other than placed the golden weapons around Lloyd and the weapons started floating! All around Lloyd there was green light and Sensei said. "Lloyd is the green ninja! I would have thought it would be one of you but...it was him the whole time!"

"It all makes sense." Sensei started walking around. "Not only have you four been chosen to protect the golden weapons but to also protect...the chosen one."

"Garmadon suddenly frowned. "That means…"

"The battle lines have been drawn brother." Sensei put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Sadly our family had only become more divided. Brother vs brother and now...father vs son."

The atmosphere suddenly got very heavy and solemn, we all felt some sort of loss. "This is al heavy and serious-" Jay said. "-but what about the fang blade?"  
We all turned to him in shock. Nya was the first to speak. "There's still one more blade."

"And with all of us unlocking our true potential, we should be able to get it." Zane nodded.

"We'll be ready!" Cole took back his weapon.

"Yeah! And let's not forget what else happened today…" Kai walked up to me and put me in a headlock- giving me a noogie. "This one unlocked her spinjitzu!"

I laughed and pushed Kai off. "DId I looked as cool as you guys?"

"You looked awesome!"

"Sweet!" I grinned. It was a small ice breaker for us to forget our troubles. We knew that we'll have to focus on the battle ahead but for now we could breath. I was treated with a little extra helping of dessert that night, with a side of ice cream.

"So Garmadon is currently living here and Zane is a robot?" I tilted my head.

"Nindroid Brittany." Jay corrected me. "Zane is a nindroid."

"Sorry, nindroid then?"

"Yes." Sensei nodded. "And Garmadon is here on the account that we're going to need all the help we can get."

I frowned and bit my tongue. I still didn't trust Garmadon but Lloyd became my friend and not only that he was Sensei's brother- I was obligated to be nice to him. "Alright then."

Garmadon looked at me weirdly before stating. "Have we met before? You don't seem very trusting."

"Yes, we have."

"Funny- I think I would have remembered you. Hard to forget anyone with that hair color." He smirked.

I instantly became self conscious and stood up. "I saw you but I don't think you saw me- it was only a one-sided meeting. Thanks for the food guys...I think I'm going to go to bed now- it's been a long day. Good night."

"Good night Brittany." A chorused reply came back.

I left before I could hear anyone say anything else and fell asleep as fast as I could.

The next few days went by relatively peaceful- it wasn't until one night that the ninja's were needed again. I hung back...ok, I was told to stay behind on the ship. As you can imagine I wasn't very happy about it. When the ninja returned- they claimed to know where the last fang blade was. But it was on the other side of Ninjago and by the time we would have gotten there, Pythor would have already been there.

Jay groaned. "Come on guys! This is the last fang blade! We gotta get it- we got to think of something!"

Lloyd spoke up after a moment of silence. "Hey- if we only need one fang blade to stop him- why don't we take back the other three? Pythor wouldn't risk having them all on him, he's probably hidden somewhere while he goes for the fourth."

Cole nodded. "It's so simple."

I gasped and hugged Lloyd around his neck. "Lloyd! You're a genius!"

He nervously laughed for some reason and looked away from me. I let go of him and looked back to the conversation. Jay almost didn't want to believe it. "It can't be that easy."

"Easy?" Zane piped up. "My algorithms would suggest that taking the other three would be even more dangerous. Pythor would undoubtedly have them protected by his top generals."

I pouted. "It was a good idea anyway."

Kai grinned. "Finally- I won't have to hold back!"

"Even if you could steal the other three-" Garmadon piped up. "You don't even know where they are."

"He's right." Sensei sighed. "For the last few weeks there have been relatively no serpentine sightings. How are they moving around? It's almost like they're ghosts."

"Wouldn't they just go underground?" I spoke up. Now all the attention was on me. "We-well they're snakes, aren't they? Didn't you guys say that when they first tried to join forces that they met up in the subway?"

Nya gasped. "She's right! Bridge! Give me a sonar sweep of Ninjago!"

Nothing came up, so Nya tried again but ordered the bridge to go twenty feet underground. What we saw next was all of their tombs interconnected and come together under Ninjago City to form a giant fortress underground. Cole smiled at me. "Way to go Brittany!"

I grinned and walked up to the see the diagram. Jay didn't find this amusing. "All this time- right under our noses."

"Or rather- feet!" Zane smiled. I giggled at his joke.

Kai pointed to the center. "There! That's the most protected area- that must be where the fang blades are!"

"That what are we waiting for!?" Sensei said. "Nya- set the course."

"Already on it! We'll be there by sunrise."

The ninja then took the opportunity to train the whole night and into the morning. Lloyd and I eventually fell asleep and by the time we woke up, not only had we arrived at our destination but the ninja were already gone. To top it all off, so were Nya and Sensei! Lloyd, Garmadon and I were the only ones left on the ship.

I checked the two males where they were, only to find Garmadon **stealing the files!** "DAD!" Lloyd frowned at him. "My friends are risking their lives to save Ninjago and you go behind their backs to gain an advantage?!"

"I'm sorry." Garmadon sighed. "I can't help it. Ever since the Devourer bit me- evil runs through my veins."

"You left me for so long-" Lloyd looked like he was going to cry. I figured that I shouldn't say anything. "-where did you go?"

"Son- there are places in this world void of any good- dark places."

"Is that where Sensei found you?" Nevermind, I chose to speak up.

"You don't know how long I've wanted those golden weapons! This place allowed me to have the power to possess them." Garmadon sneered in my direction.

Lloyd stepped in front me, blocking his dad from looking at me, looking at him a little darker than before. I stuck my tongue out at him when Garmadon wasn't paying attention to me. Lloyd didn't seem to feel better about his explanation. "But why didn't you take me with you?"

"Every boy has the choice to grow up to be...whoever they want to be." Garmadon put his hands on Lloyd's shoulders, pulling him farther away from me. "But I never had that choice- because I was bitten. But you still have that choice! You don't need to be like me Lloyd- your uncle has a plan for you and even though it may be to stop me one day- we have to follow our own destiny. And after I help the ninja stop Pythor- I'll need to leave again."

"Then why don't you leave now!?" Lloyd stomped his foor on the ground.

"Lloyd."

"No really! Go back to whatever evil place you came from." I bit my lip at Lloyd's words. ' _He couldn't really mean that...it's his dad, not matter how bad he can be.'_

"Code red! Code red!" Nya's broken voice came over the intercom. "Operation stealth was a total bust! We're going to need reinforcements! Anyone there?"

Garmadon went to pick up the communicator but Lloyd stopped him. "We don't want your help! And we don't need you here! Maybe it would have been better if you hadn't come back at all."

"Lloyd!" I cried out, my hand flying to my mouth.

Garmadon just left after that and I almost felt the need to comfort him. I didn't know my parents...why would someone be so cold to the ones who gave them life? Even if he was evil, we still needed his help! I didn't understand!

Lloyd took control of the panel and started to press random buttons. "I'm trying to help Nya! Just hold on!"

I ran over next to him and started to make different combinations on the keypad. "I'm here too Nya! We'll try to figure something out!"

We stayed there for a while trying to make a difference with little to no helpful results. Lloyd suddenly ran out of the room, claiming he had an idea. He came back wearing the green ninja suit just as Nya managed to contact us again. "Brittany? Lloyd? Lord Garmadon? Is anyone there?"

I gulped. "We're here Nya!"

"But my dad...left." Lloyd's shoulders fell. "How are guys holding up?"

She didn't respond for a while but she eventually said. "We're fine but we're a little held up at the moment. Our weapons have been taken and we're locked in a cage."

Lloyd and I looked at each other with slight fear in our eyes.

"And Pythor had returned with the fourth fang blade!" Cole's voice came through.

"Lloyd- where did your father go?" Zane asked.

The boy in question sighed. "I told him to leave- he was trying to steal secrets!"

I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ha! Big surprise!" I pictured Kai rolling his eyes as he said that. "I told you about that guy! You guys wouldn't listen."

"My dad's going back to where he came from. But don't worry I'll save you guys." Lloyd pulled the ninja hood over his head.

"Me too! I'll help!" I yelled.

"You're not ready Lloyd!" Sensei disagreed. "Your destiny is too great to risk!"

"But I'll be with him Sensei Wu!" I yelled back. "We can help!"

"We'll get you out of there in a giff!" Lloyd ended the call. He then ran to the closet by the window and tried to pull out the staff that was inside- but the whole thing fell on top of him. I ran over there and picked up the mess.

"We don't have much time Lloyd." I gave him my hand and pulled him up. "Come on! I think I know a way we can help the ninja!"

Lloyd and I then ran to the deck and lowered a rope to the mouth of where the ninja went in. From there we made our way down to the bottom, while I explained my "plan". "Ok, I still have some of my invisibility potions so I can drink one of those and make it seem like you're alone. That way- in case you get caught ot I can't fight, the snakes would be none the wiser."

"Ok...but what do I do?" Lloyd and I hit the bottom of the tunnel. We saw an open passway and followed it downwards. "I honestly didn't think that far ahead. Just do whatever feels natural to you- I'll try to make an escape route."

I pulled out the potion before we reached the end and drank it until the bottle was empty. "We're mostly going to have to wing it. Unless you have a better idea."

"Nope."

"Alright then." I nodded, now completely invisible. "Let's do this!"

When we went through the entryway- we saw all of the snakes...two were fighting each other in some kind of toxic pit while the ninja seemed to be trapped in a huge cage but chained by one of their arms. "There they are!"

They stood up upon seeing Lloyd and Lloyd...well...he just jumped in the middle of the snake pit. I did not hold back from face palming. "Why? Why did you do that Lloyd?"

I figured that I would use Lloyd as a diversion and made my way toward the ninja. I couldn't really climb my way up the them but I still had to those blocks from when I built that cave all those weeks ago. I placed them one on top of each other until they were some sort of usable stairs that were at the same height of the cage. At that point, I had run out of blocks.

Lloyd was being a magnificent distraction- being the center of attention. Poor guy was being laughed at though. Garmadon came in and interrupted the whole thing by bringing the army of skeletons with him. I went back to ignoring them and focusing on my main task- freeing the ninja!

I took out my pickaxe and started mining into the wall next to me- taking the dropped blocks as I went. When I was right in front of the cage- I used the blocks I collected to build a bridge to the cage.

The skeletons and the snakes started fighting each other. I looked down and saw Pythor take the fang blades, on his way out of the fighting zone. I glared at him and realized that I didn't have enough blocks to make it to the cage. I would have to jump.

I bit my lip and felt my nerves frazzle, sending my stomach into my mouth. I took a deep breath and ran.

So jump I did!

I slipped through the bars easily enough and ran to my trapped friends. Switching from my pickaxe to my iron sword- I cut through the bondages and watched threw their slightly scared eyes as they processed what they just saw...or lack thereof. "Don't worry guys! It's just me Brittany!"

All fear flew away and was replaced by relief. Kai held his heart. "I thought we were all going to bite it for a second."

Suddenly the cage started going downwards. Jay seemed happy about it though. "Hey! We're moving!"

"Yeah-" Cole rolled his eyes. "-in the wrong way."

If it kept up- the whole cage would be dropped into the acid below us. My eyebrows furrowed and I switched to my strongest sword. I cut away the bars and made a hole in the cage...it only dawned on me then that I could have escaped that cage in the desert easily...why did I not do that? "Get out of here! Quickly! Pythor left with the fang blades!"

With Lloyd's help- they managed to regain their weapons and continue living another day. "You guys make a pretty good team." Nya smiled.

"We told you we'd save you." Lloyd and I spoke in unison.

Kai smirked from under his hood. "Go ninja go."

When I regrouped with Lloyd, we both made our way back to the top and ran with the ninja back to the ship. We all hopped on with the fang blades in our possession (stolen from Pythor of course) and flew away as fast as we could.

"Does anyone know where Brittany is?" Sensei asked, panicked.

"I'm right here Sensei." I said, scaring the heck out of Cole. "I'm still invisible...it should last for another few hours."

"Well is there any way to turn you visible again?" Cole asked.

"Yeah- this is creeping me out." Jay made a disgusted slash horrified face.

I giggled. "Can I have some milk please?"

Kai nodded and poured me a glass. I drank out of the cup and watched their reactions as I turned visible again. "Better?"

"How did-"

"Milk is the natural cure all for any minecraftian potion and poison." I grinned.

"Cool...Now let's party! We won didn't we?!"

And so we did- the bridge was turned into a dance floor and Zane cooked some of his amazing food.

Lloyd came in during the middle of it with a sad look on his face. I frowned. "Did he leave Lloyd?

I didn't get a response.

"Well...then have some punch." I gave him a cup. "Cole made it...and you can actually drink it!"

Lloyd took the cup but the frown didn't really leave. Nya noticed us and proposed a toast. "To Lloyd's dad!"

"Here here!"

That lifted Lloyd's spirits. "To dad!"

"Tomorrow we will arrive at Torch Fire Mountain to destroy these fang blades once and for all." Sensei said. "And it couldn't have been done without your father. I'm going to miss him."

The ninja's cheered and continued to party. I laughed and danced around with Zane. I made sure to dance with everybody before I went to bed that night.

Despite the issues- it was a great way the end the day.


	6. The Great Devourer

There was a huge thunderstorm we had to fly through on our journey to Torch Fire Mountain.

Kai, Nya, Jay and I were having tea in the dining room when Cole walked in, looking sick. "Please- no one talk about food." (referring to our previous conversation)The rocking ship thru Cole back and forth, nearly knocking him off of his feet. "How much till we get there?"

"Not long." Jay shook his head. "Hey Cole- you look a little green over there. How would you like a mucus salt sandwich?"

I made a face while Cole ran away to throw up (worsening my face). Jay laughed evilly. "Speaking of green- who would have through little Lloyd Garmadon would turn out to be the green ninja?"

"I know- he was such a brat at first." Nya looked at the four fang blades before looking at me. "There was time where I thought Brittany might be it."

I immediately sat straighter. "Really? Why?"

"You showed promise...you still do but it's only a matter of time before all of our efforts are put into Lloyd. He plays a bigger role than any of us now."

I sat back down and took my tea cup. "I see..I'll just try to stay out of your way then."

"Don't be like that Brittany." Kai put an elbow on the table. "You're still a part of our team- we're going to need your help too. Besides we still have to find your family."

"Yeah Brittany." Jay wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Even if we don't, you're part of our family and that means we don't plan on abandoning you- ever!"

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

"Has anyone seen Lloyd though? He's been a little quiet." Nya sat up and looked around as if he were pop out from around a corner.

I put my now empty tea cup on the table. "I'll go check on him."

I walked to the first place I thought he would be- the training grounds underdeck. When I first got there- the door opened by itself. I gasped and ran forward- only to crash into something. "Ow!"

"What have we here?" A familiar voice chuckled. Pythor made himself visible and picked me up- bringing me into the training room. I saw Lloyd tied up and taped across his mouth- struggling to get free. I tried to fight back and call for him but Pythor was a lot stronger than me and soon I was in the same position as Lloyd but on a different pole. "Don't worry you two...I know that you both make splendid company for each other. Well...I'm off to take what's mine- toodle loo!~"

We both struggled against our binds. ' _Darn it! I can't reach into my pocket.'_

Hours passed before Lloyd managed to free himself- he fell over and wobbled to the intercom. The tape fell half-way off of his mouth- enabling him to to say...err yell. "Pythor's onboard!"

I nodded and struggled some more. Lloyd got up and went to help me out but I shook my head. "What?"

Lloyd took the tape off of my mouth, leaving me gasping for air. "Go! They'll need your help! I'll free myself!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!Go Lloyd go!" I yelled.

So Lloyd ran out of the room- leaving me behind. In my struggled, I could feel the ship rock back and forth- enough for my feet to touch the ground and give my arms a little more wiggle room. "I'm back Brittany!"

I gasped. "Lloyd! What are you doing here? What about the others?"

"Pythor escaped from the ship so the others went after him. I managed to kick him in the face though so I guess that now I'm pretty awesome."

Lloyd took off the last of my bondages and helped me stand on my own. I tilted my head. "What are we supposed to do then?"

"I wanted to go with them to help but they said that someone had to take care of the bounty." Lloyd sighed.

An idea formed in my mind just as Lloyd said that. "Do you still want to help?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"Then I have an idea! Come on!" I ran out of the room with Lloyd on my tail. Fast forward a few frustrating minutes and Lloyd and I had the ship flying through the sky in the direction of the fight. We weren't the best at flying but after a few minutes of trying to get to the front we managed to keep her steady and "cruise" along.

By the time we caught up- the ninja and Nya were stranded in the middle of the road. "Lloyd! Lower the anchor! We'll pick them up!"

"On it!"

The whole bus car thing they were stranded with-added weight to the ship but were happy to help nonetheless. "Lloyd!"

I pouted behind the wheel. "I'm here too you know!"

"And Brittany!"

"That's better."

"To Oroborus as fast as you can!" Kai called out.

"Aye aye captain!"

I turned on the thrusters and the ship picked up speed. We flew along and tried to catch up. By the time the ship even managed to reach Oroborus- the sun had gone down. Lloyd and I landed the ship and jumped out together, catching up with the already running ninja. "Wait up guys!"

When we reached the center- the ground was shaking and crumbling. I saw Sensei with Pythor on the other side of the arena, struggling to stay put. "Sensei!"

"What's going on?" Kai looked down. "What's that creature underground?"

Below us were two glowing red eyes- ever so slowly making their way upwards. I gulped and clung onto Zane (since he was the closest to me). Sensei looked at us- holding Pythor hostage. "You must do everything in your power to stop the Great Devourer! Go ninja go!"

Nya immediately took off with Lloyd hanging on to her Samurai suit. I stayed put out of fear with the ninja by my side. Kai looked ready to run over there. "No...Sensei…"

Without warning- the center of the arena exploded and the largest snake that I have...that anyone has ever seen came out. It kept going higher and higher with seemingly no end to it. I couldn't look away no matter how much I wanted to.

When it reached what had to be it's top without falling over- it looked down on us and screeched. I let go of Zane to cover my ears from the sound and closed my eyes. Tears welled up from fear and I could feel my heart about to beat out of my chest. I hadn't been this scared before in my life. The ninja and I backed up to hide a bit but we continued to stay as close we as could to Sensei.

Suddenly the snake came down and ate both Sensei Wu and Pythor. I screamed and started sobbing. "NOO!"

Kai pushed me behind him and tried to block my eyes but the damage was done. The creature screamed again before turning its attention to us. Jay gulped. "Maybe if we stand...perfectly still."

That didn't seem to work.

Kai grabbed my hand and yelled. "RUN!"

I got dragged along with him- too scared to grieve our loss of our friend- as we ran through the lost city with the snake quickly gaining any lost ground. Zane took me away from Kai and carried me up the side of the deck and into the bridge where Lloyd and Nya were. We all quickly got into some rag tag form of battle stations when Jay yelled. "Umm- not the point this out but OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR!"

"Working on it!" Nya yelled back. "Blasters on full!"

The ship took off just in time for the snake to miss its bite.

"Woo hoo!" Kai cried out. "Take that you stupid snake!"

"I think it heard you Kai." I gulped.

"What makes you say that?"

The snake immediately appeared in front of the ship- causing Nya to steer clear from it. Kai retook his position in looking through the window for the snake. "Nya! We gotta go faster! That thing is gaining on us!"

"We're going as fast as we can! I'll try try to get us to Scatter Canyon!"

Zane looked uneasy. "The probability of us making it that far is 8%."

"NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!"

I let the first few tears fall, no longer able to hold them back- this was too much for me. Lloyd ran over to me and frowned. "Come on Brittany! We need your help!"

"It's attacking the port side!" Cole yelled.

I nodded- still full of tears and made it to the sensors with Lloyd. He gulped. "We're losing speed! We'll hit the ground pretty son."

Nya growled. "Throw everything overboard!"

"WHAT?!"

"We need to lose some weight!" Nya yelled over her shoulder.

Lloyd screamed. "Port side!"

We narrowly missed the snakes next attack- but it succeeded in taking one of our engines- making the ship lose its balance. The ninja then proceeded to run out of the bridge and through the Bounty to throw anything and everything overboard. When they were done- they returned to the bridge. "Boy- he sure is hungry." Jay said. "Wait...does he look any bigger to you guys?"

"Don't throw anything else overboard!" Cole yelled.

I rubbed my eyes- which were itchy from my earlier tears. Lloyd kept track of the sensors. "We made it to Scatter Canyon." Nya took a breath. "Hold on!"

She then started to maneuver the ship through the canyon and away from the snake. Cole cheered when we couldn't see the snake after a while. "Sweet! We lost'em!"

Instead though, the snake jumped in front of us and bhit the ship with its hooked tail. "Abandon ship!"

We all ran away from falling or breaking objects- making our way onto the deck. "Brittany!" Kai ran over to me and put me his back. "You're coming with me!"

I only nodded and held on for dear life as Kai used his golden weapon to turn into his bike and ride away. We all managed to meet up with each other and watch as the Great Devourer kicked our home up and break in two with a single bite. "NOO!"

W eall were hiding in a side cave where the snakes wouldn't see us- dawn had broken by this time and we were forced to watch the snake slither away. Cole stepped back and retracted his weapon. "It's gone…"

"That was too intense." Kai took off his hood and slide down a sand bank. "All that action...makes you thirsty..."

"There's no time to rest!" Zane stood up. "We need to warn people before it becomes bigger!"

"Bigger? BIGGER?" Jay jumped up- taking off his hood. "That thing in one big bite just ate our entire ship!"

I bit my lip- feeling the tears grow again. But I stayed silent, watching Jay mumble to himself. "We need to save as many as we can. We'll have to find some kind of refuge- somewhere safe to hide- oh! The serpentine tombs! Yeah- they're underground and we won't see sunlight for months but they're perfect!"

"And what? Give up?" Cole marched right up to Jay and got in his face.

"You know as well as I do that we have NO CHANCE of stopping that thing!"

I started shaking and sat down- curling into myself to avoid attention.

"Stop it!" Kai broke up the soon to be fight. "Listen to yourselves- look at what you're doing to Brittany!"

Silence.

"Is this what Sensei Wu would have wanted?" Kai continued- getting the attention off of me. "Us fighting? Running and hiding? Giving up?"

"But he's not here anymore…" Lloyd choked out. It was hard to read him with his hood up but he certainly has had better days, everyone took off their hoods in respect.

"But his teachings live on-" Kai said. "-Sensei once told me that it's not the size of the ninja in a fight, but the size of the fight in the ninja. All this training...all these battles that we've had with the serpentine and the skeletons...we persevered through so much. We can't just give up now! A ninja never admits defeat, a ninja always picked himself back up when he's down, which is exactly what Sensei would want us to do right now!"

"But how do we destroy a snake of that magnitude?" Zane tilted his head.

"Yeah-" Jay scoffed. "-it's not like we have another sacred flute lying around to charm it- or wait- haha- what about one of our awesome dragons- oh I forgot- they took off and left us high and dry- oh wait- what about our golden weapons, which would do nothing against a snake that size! Hehe- we're so hooped!"

Cole sighed. "Jay's right! We would be a weapon so big-"

"Or an idea even bigger!" Kai cried out. "Jay are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably not but go ahead."

I giggled for the first time that day as Kai took the lead. "Jay you're a genius! There's no time to explain but I'll fill you guys in on the way!" Kai then took off running into the desert. "But Kai- where are we going?"

"We're going to destroy that snake once and for all."

With a shrug, I stood up and ran after Kai. Soon enough all of us took after Kai and changed our mode of transportation to their respective vehicles- I got to ride with Cole this time around. We eventually all made it to Jay's parent's junk yard. The vehicles disappeared and Jay went to go see if his parents were home. Cole was the first to speak. "Good idea Kai- if the Devourer likes to eat, this place is a full on buffet."

Jay sighed. "Looks like my parents aren't home."

"Good." Kai took out some blueprints….don't ask from where, I didn't get an answer even to this day. "Better for us."

Within the next few moments, the ninja performed the tornado of creation and created a new vehicle- even with the distraction of the mail man and their conversation of the the 'Take Back Ninjago' rally that the people decided to do because of the serpentine sightings.

The snake appeared just as we bet it would- the guys got ready and Kai yelled. "Zane now!"

But he missed.

"Zane!" Cole groaned. "What was that? You're supposed to hit him, not give him a haircut!"

"Need I remind you guys that we just magically whipped up this heap of junk?!"

I stood back with Nya and Lloyd and watched as the ninja scared the Devourer away. The ninja then jumped out of the new vehicle. "Did anyone of you see that?"

"See what?"

I gasped. "Guys! Look out!"

The snake's tail came down and crashed onto Zane. We all cried out his name as the tail disappeared and the snake left for real. When the smoke and dust cleared, we saw Zane walk back to us. "That was a close one."

Except Zane was missing half of his face!"

Kai sighed with relief. "Yeah...too close."

"Perfect!" Jay nearly spat. "Now that was a total failure!"

"Not total. Did you guys notice on his forehead?" Kai pointed to himself. "It has a weak spot!"

"Oh great! Let me make a note of that." Jay sassed. I frowned at him. "Giant snake- has itty bitty weak spot- that'll totally be impossible to get at because that thing is too ridiculously huge to do anything to stop it!"

Nay sighed. "Are you done?"

Jay took a deep breath."...yes."

"Because things just got worse." Nya pointed in the snake's direction. "Look!"

I gasped. "It's heading for Ninjago City!"

"That's where my parents are…"

"...so is everybody else!"

"If it consumes the biggest city in all of Ninjago...there will be no stopping it."

"Then what are doing here!" Lloyd screamed. "We have to stop it!"

"Agreed."

The guys took the new vehicle while Lloyd and I hitched a ride on Nya's exo-suit. The snake beat su to city but we got there in time to save Jay's Parents! Jay shocked the snake away causing it to slither away and into Kai path where he roasted his face with fire. Cole then picked up a nearby van that belonged to a reporter and threw it at the snakes head. I blinked. "I knew Cole was strong...but not that strong."

Zane then proceeded to freeze its tail right before it attacked. I stood next to Lloyd unsure of what to do. I took out my bow and arrow and ran at it, shooting at it to gain its attention while the ninja were down. I saw Lloyd run off with Nya and join her in her samurai suit right before it smashed its tail in my direction. I pushed the ground from underneath me to make me go underground while the tail only hit the ground that was once around me.

The snake realised that I wasn't hit and moved over to peer directly into my little hole Nya came to be rescue though when she took a lamp post and started smacking the snake with it. She eventually lodged the light post between the snake's jaw and held it there. Lloyd yelled out. "It's breath smells worse than Cole's chile!"

"Hey!"

I climbed out of the ground and took out my sword, running toward the ninja. "I think Nya might be stuck!"

The snake started hitting its head on the buildings to get rid of the stick...and people in its mouth. Kai gulped and screamed. "Get out of there sis!"

"I can't!" Nya cried. "I'm stuck!"

"Nya!"

Just the a hit came from a different angle. Cole gasped. "Rocky!"

A new dragon came into our view- it was bigger than their old dragons and it came with four head, each representing their previous form. One by one the dragon attacked the snake with each of the ninja's elements. It was enough to knock Nya and Lloyd out of the Devourer's mouth. With them gone, the snake slithered up a building and fought the dragon on its own. Cole grinned. "Can dragon get any cooler?! I mean, seriously?"

"Yes!" Kai cheered. "It's running away!"

But it wasn't.

The snake knocked the dragon sideways and smacked its tail against the dragon, sending it to the ground. "NOO!"  
We ran up to see the dragon- which was still alive but now injured. Nya bit her lip. "What now?"

"Give me the golden weapons!" A new voice yelled at us.

We all turned around in shock and saw Garmadon standing there. Lloyd cried out. "You came back!"

"Give me the weapons! I'm the only one who can handle all of their power at once! It's the only thing that can defeat the Devourer." He said.

"Uhh- I thought it was our job to do everything in our power **not** to let him possess the weapons." Jay said in response.

"I've gone through every other scenario through my servers." Zane looked up from his robotic wrist. "It appears to be the only way."

In the distance we could hear car crashes and people screaming.

"Give me the weapons." Garmadon persisted. "Only I can destroy it! Or prepare to watch-"

"Quit your yammering and just do it!" Kai sighed and passed him his sword. The other quickly followed his example. I gulped. "I don't feel good about this."

"Do we have a choice?" Nya put a hand on my shoulder.

"When you have the chance to make the blow, it has a weak spot on its forehead." Kai nodded toward the dark lord.

"I don't think it needs to be said- but we're going to need these back." Jay sighed.

Garmadon laughed. "I'll do my part- just make sure he stays in one spot."

Then he ran away laughing like the mad man he was. I sighed. "Now I really don't feel good about this."

"Come on!" Cole motioned for the others to follow.

I was about to go with them until I was stopped by Nya. "Don't think I didn't see you get nearly crushed by the snake earlier. You and Lloyd stay behind- let the guys handle this!"

"But Nya-"

"No. We're just going to have to trust them."

I gulped and looked to Lloyd- he didn't seem pleased but he stayed quiet.

We saw the snake move through the city- chasing the ninja and slowly encircling itself until it ended up biting its own tail and hooking itself. The ninja joined our small trio on the top of a building with the dragon. Cole spoke first. "Now where's Garmadon?"

"It's not going to hold out for long." Kai bit his lip from under his hood.

"Look!" Lloyd pointed upwards. At the top of the building in front of us stood Lord Garmadon- clouds swirled and blackened above him. "It's dad!"

"You are the reason evil runs through my blood." Garmadon hissed. "You bit me once- now feel what it's like to bitten back!"

Then he jumped off of the building- hurdling towards the snake's head. When they collided, a huge burst of light happened and the Great Devourer exploded into green slime, covering all of Ninjago in a tidal wave of goop.

Jay took a huge breath when it was all over. "He did it…"

"No-" Cole cut him off. "-we did it!"

Everyone- man, woman, child, old, young, big and small- ran out into the streets to celebrate and cheer that the danger was gone. Out group made it out the building and into the streets with the people. That's when Jay met up with his parents and Cole reunited with his dragon.

Lloyd looked a little concerned though. "I don't see my dad…"

We all started to look around then. Kai stepped over some debri. "He should be around here somewhere."

"You're analysis is incorrect." Zane said, scanning the area. "He is not here."

Cole growled. "Then our golden weapons are gone too!"

I sighed. "I knew it...but the day is saved I suppose."

We started walking towards the edge of the street when Nya pointed out. "Look! His footsteps!"

Kai put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "I have a feeling that you'll be seeing you father again soon."

"I know." Lloyd sighed. "But that's what I'm afraid of."

Before I could feel any pity or concern for my friend- Cole cried out for joy, startling al of us but gaining our attention nonetheless. "Look! Sensei Wu!"

I gasped- following Cole's line of sight and jumped over the edge to meet my older friend. The slime came up to me knees so it made it hard for me to run but I made it to him in time and jumped on the old man to give a hug. "Sensei Wu!"

I finally crumbled down and sobbed against the man, "I-I thought that- that I w-would never-r see yo-you again."

"I am fine young one and I do not plan on leaving this world just yet." He hugged me back.

The others stepped a few feet away but I stuck out my arm and motioned them toward us. "Group hug!"

Sensei and I were squished between the bodies of the people and after a moment we all let go of the man. "Man are we glad to see you!"

"I can't tell you how glad I am to see all of you!" Sensei grinned and walked past us to pick up his teapot and cup that were laying on the ground. "The Great Devourer left a bad taste in my mouth."

He then poured himself a hot cup of tea and drank it. I shook my head at it but smiled. "I"m so glad you're alive!"

"It's good to have to you back uncle." Lloyd's smile faltered a little. "But my father left and took the golden weapons!"

Sensei sighed and put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Very true- the ability of the weapons is truly great but the ability to better one self makes you limitless."

"I couldn't have said it better myself.'" Jay grinned.

"Besides-" Kai stepped up. "-we have what is most important...you."

Sensei chuckled. "The pupils have become the masters."

"Am I really going to have to fight my father one day?"

"One day- but today we can feel good that Ninjago is saved." Sensei nodded at each and every one of us. "For tomorrow you will train for the day. Good will finally face evil and a final outcome would decide for all time."

"B-but don't worry." Kai cut in. "We're going to teach you everything we know."

"And make you're prepared for that fight." Said Jay.

"And ninja always stand for what is right." Zane joined the party.

Sensei Wu and Nya shared a look and looked back at the guys. As much as I want to say that I felt great at that moment- I felt the most out of place than I have in the whole I was there. Like I stepped into something personal that wasn't meant for outsiders like me to see.

The ninja cheered and jumped like they belonged in a freeze frame. I smiled a little and looked at my tag. "I think that I can properly search if I'm not going to be needed anymore."

"You ok Brittany" Nya walked over to me.

I put my tag back under my shirt and nodded. "I have a personal mission you know and if all the attention of going to be put into training Lloyd-"

"Stop right there." Sensei shook his head. "You are just as part of this team as anyone else and you are still my student...I already know where you're going with that and it's not something you must go through alone."

"I don't understand." Lloyd tilted his head.

"She needs to try and find her parents." Kai stepped up.

"Oh!" He perked up. "I promised I would help you, remember Brittany? When do we start?"

"But you have to train...you're the chosen one." I kicked the slime off of my shoe. "I don't think you would have the time."

"Then I'll make the time." Lloyd stood in front of me with the most determined look on his face that I've seen in awhile. "We'll start first thing tomorrow, ok?"

My brain stopped for a second before I grinned. "Yeah… yeah ok! We'll start tomorrow!"


	7. New Home

Lloyd actually woke up before me the next day and had to shake me awake to get started on his promise. I frowned and tried to push him off to get a little more rest. "Five more minutes…"

"No Brittany! Wake up! We have to find your parents!" Lloyd whined.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, yawning in the process. "Fine."

Lloyd and I then cleaned up our appearances in our hotel room before heading out for the day. Sensei and Nya were going to get some medicine for the dragon while the ninja would stay back and help clean the city. The first place we started looking was the mall- with less luck than anticipated. Next, we checked city hall, hoping it would track my tag somehow. We didn't have much luck there either but they promised they would keep looking if anything popped up.

I sighed and sat down on the bench when he left. "Lloyd can we take a break? We've been searching for hours now and my feet hurt."

"Yeah...mine too." Lloyd sighed and sat down next to me. "Don't lose heart though! If they're in Ninjago then they're bound be found at some point!"

I put on a weak smile on. "I don't know Lloyd. I mean look at it-" I took out my tag. "- no one seems to know what language it's in...not even Zane knows and he has a computer for a brain! Maybe they're just not here…"

"Would you leave then...if they're not?"

I looked down and rubbed the edges of my tag with my thumb. "Maybe...I don't know, I don't want to think about that possibility yet."

Lloyd nodded in understanding. "Where did you get that tag anyway?"

"I've had it on my person since I was very little. I had it when my adoptive parents first found me."

"So- you had parents?"

"Once. They're dead now."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"There you guys are!" Kai ran up to us. "I thought you were doing a search."

"We took a break." Lloyd shrugged while I put my tag back under my shirt.

"Good then." Cole crossed his arms. "We're going with a real estate agent to check out some new places to live. Wanna tag along?"

I nodded and hopped off the bench. Lloyd hesitated but followed suit. When we met with the real estate agent the first thing she had to know was out budget and did a quick search around town. When we first arrived at the first place she said. "This cozy one bedroom- half bath is a cozy dream. Who need extras when everything is in arm's reach? And wait till you see the lighting!"

She flipped a switch but the only lightbulb only flickered for a bit before falling out of its place and shattering on the ground. "Oh-uh, who needs lights when you have this view?"

She then pulled up the blinds to the only window- only to come face to face with a brick wall. Lloyd was not impressed (well none of us were but was the only one to say something) "Um, why do I smell old people?"

"Look doll, I'm trying to work around your budget. This is all you can afford!"

I frowned. "I miss the Bounty."

Jay put a hand around my shoulders but didn't comment on it. Cole tried to have a positive outlook. "This...uh...looks promising. Remember guys, Sensei told us that our main objective is to train Lloyd, not kick out feet up in some swanky suite. If this is all we can afford, this is all we can afford."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa- let's not rush into any decision." Jay poked Cole's shoulder. "If it's really all about Lloyd then shouldn't we live in a place that would make his training easier."

"Yeah- Jay's right." Kai sighed. "If we have to get Lloyd ready to save Ninjago from his father- shouldn't he at least have his own room?"

"Technically-" Zane piped up. "-that does not matter. He only-"

Kai hit Zane promptly shutting him up. Jay spoke next. "Besides I don't think Brittany would be entirely comfortable here without her own space away from all us guys." Then he turned to agent and said. "We're just trying to think of the children."

"I do have another property that you'll just love!~" The agent replied. We then walked out the place and followed the lady through the city to a fancy looking building. We took the elevator up to the top and saw a clean, state-of-the-art apartment. "Now this is an eight bedroom- hero suite. Floor to ceiling windows- digital wall television, state-of-the-art game console-"

Cole grimaced. "It seems a little bit out of our price range."

"Sure it costs a little more but you deserve it!" She laughed. "I forgot to mention there's also a dragon keep on the roof."

"Nice."

"Maybe we can get a hero's discount? After all we are the ninja who saved the city." Jay said.

"I thought Lord Garmadon saved the city."

"Hmpf."

"We can get jobs!" Kai grinned. "To pay for the extra expenses."

"We always said we could use a little more responsibility." Zane smiled.

"But we have to train Lloyd." Cole put a hand on said person's shoulder. That's then the agent lady said. "Did I mention the in house training facility?"

Then she pressed some button and the wall moved back to show a whole training course like the monastery had. That had the ninja sold and they took the place. Immediately the ninja went out to find jobs and left Lloyd and me to our own devices. We both spent our time in the training room- facing each other on and off until the ninja got back. When I heard the door open- I moved to the back of the room as to stay out of the nina's sight while they complained. I couldn't really hear what they were saying until Lloyd suddenly cried out. "But I thought you were going to train me when you got home!"

I punched the dummy harder. "Ninja go!" I spun around to do spinjitzu and landed on top of a training pillar. "Uh-oh."

I then tried looking for a way down before giving up and using spinjitzu to get down like I got up. Only this time I couldn't stick the landing and tripped on my own two feet, landing on my butt. Lloyd came back in. "The ninja are gone again Brittany- do you want to play video games with me?"

I nodded- my pride stinging a little bit and went to play some games with Lloyd. We played until it got late and fell asleep on the couch. When we woke up- we had a blanket over us and the tv was off but it was silent. "I guess the ninja are gone again…"

"Yeah...wanna play the game again? I don't think we got past the boss." Lloyd got up and turned the console back on.

I shook my head. "You can play- I wanna practice my spinjitzu."

"You know- I don't think it's fair that you can do it and I can't."

Anger suddenly built up inside and I felt the need to clear things up. "I don't think it's fair that you're suddenly the center of attention and everything thing is for you and you only- chosen one. But it doesn't matter now, does it? You will learn spinjitzu on your own time and I will eventually be forgotten because you're important." I sighed. "How's that for fair?"

Was that the best way to handle it?

No.

Yeah- we didn't speak to each other for the whole day. I spent all my time in the training area while Lloyd played games. I was trying my best to ignore everything when Lloyd cried out. "Help me!"

I blinked and slowly walked through the area- taking my sweet time because I thought Lloyd was talking about the video game. Well...I was doing that until I heard something shatter- then I was running to see Lloyd. "What do you want with me?"

"You seem to be the only thing your father cares about!" Scales said. I gasped and quietly crept behind him. "But with you as my hostage- he'll have no choice but to let me lead the serpentine!"

Lloyd was now backed against the wall and trapped. Ibit my lip and ran towards Scales- doing spinjitzu to attack his face. "Ninja GO!"

"What's going on in there?" A new voice said.

"Sensei! Help!"

I kept my stare on Scales- glaring at him. "Get out of here Scales! Leave him alone!"

"You!" He turned to me. "What are you going to do Pinky?"

I growled and took out my sword. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"Such big talk for such a puny human." He hissed.

"Scales! You leave the children alone!" Sensei said. Nya stood right behind him in a battle stance.

Now that he was outnumbered (read: outskilled)- Scales looked uneasy. He tried to escape but he couldn't get past Sensei and within minutes the police arrived to take him away. I ran up to Lloyd and gave him a quick hug. "You're ok!"

"You went to save me?"

"Of course I did silly!" I grinned. "We're friends, aren't we? Sorry about I said earlier though, I didn't really mean it."

"It's ok."

"Where are the ninja?" Sensei asked.

"Working." Lloyd and I said in unison.

Nya face palmed.

So we waited until the ninja got home and his so it would look like Lloyd was taken. We could hear the guys panic in the living room. When Cole said. "Losing Lloyd is our greatest loss." That's when they (everyone but me) stepped out.

"But it could be your greatest lesson." Sensei said.

"Lloyd!"

"You're ok!"

"I wasn't going to be until Nya and Sensei showed up at the last moment." Lloyd said. I frowned and turned away- ' _I helped, didn't I? Even the ninja seemed more concerned for Lloyd than me.'_

Nya sighed. "I got away for a day and everything falls apart."

"I guess you can say we learned that we don't need all the fancy stuff." Kai stepped forward. "We just need each other."

I never stepped out of the hiding spot we were in earlier- I was trying to see when they would notice that I wasn't there. By the looks of it- it might take a while- the thought hurt me and I felt some tears build up in my eyes. They just kept talking and not once about me.

I slowly crept out of the spot and passed them, running to what was supposed to be my room. I cried there instead of where the others would hear me.

Within the next few hours- we had what we brought in packed up and ready to move again. I quietly did was I was told and helped them move again but to the first place that didn't even have a shower. As we were bringing stuff in (making the small place even smaller) Cole repeated what the agent said. "It's not much but this one bedroom, half bathroom is a cozy dream. Who needs extras when everything is in arm's reach?"

I sighed and watch the guys fumble with the furniture. They talked and sat down- each choosing where they would want to sleep for the night. I did my best to seem happy but I wasn't. It was since then that I sincerely thought about leaving. If I would have told them then and there, they would have freaked out but I stayed quiet and entertained the thought little by little until the day ended.

The next few days went by without any issue and practically went back to normal. My thoughts on leaving were forgotten as time went by as well as the memory that everyone forgot about me. It was one of those days where nothing really happened that actually had stayed in my memory till now.

Kai was training Lloyd- getting him to hit his hands that were protected by oven mitts. "Keep it up! You got it!"

"Fists of furry! You can't even see them I'm so fast!" Lloyd smirked.

"Save the gloating." Kai rolled his eyes. "It can only be used against you by your enemy."

"Oh please- I'm ready to face whatever you throw at me." Lloyd then kicked Kai to the wall.

"Whoa grasshopper- you're not even ready to face my pinkie toe."

I cringed and walked up to Kai, poking him in his cheek. "Don't talk like Sensei- it's weird."

Sensei laughed. "So that student have finally become the teacher...you will learn fast Lloyd with lessons from the four ninja."

Cole grinned. "Great now that the lesson is over, how about some target practice...on Kai?"

Kai's face dropped causing me to giggle as I helped him off of the ground. Sensei kept talking. "You will each get a turn- but first, I wouldn't want you to miss your next lesson with Nya."

"AWWW- but when will I learn spinjitzu?" Lloyd pouted.

I sighed and went back to reading the comic I borrowed from Lloyd. He didn't have as much time to do the things he liked and I now had more time on my hands so I took to see why he found these stories interesting. It was quickly becoming one my favorite things to do.

Lloyd eventually left the room and Cole chuckled. "Sound familiar?"

Kai frowned. "I wasn't that whiney."

Zane piped up. "No- you were worse."

I burst out laughed, catching all of their attention. "Sorry...hahaha."

Jay grinned at me and looked at the others. "Guys- I know we're trying to prepare Lloyd for the future but it's hard to give him the best training in these conditions...and I haven't seen Brittany train once since we've got here. Yes- Lloyd has an important role to play but we can't forget about her."

Cole sighed. "Jay's right- I miss the Destiny's Bounty. Too bad it's gone."

Sensei nodded. "I see your point. Perhaps we could find some where else to aid in his journey."

I looked up from the comic book again, paying more attention to the ninja then the book. "There's a dojo in the city- Lloyd and I passed it a few days ago while we were searching for clues about my family. Maybe we could ask the owner if Lloyd could train there."

"Way to go Brittany!" Kai grinned.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Jay crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "You never asked."

"Ok… she's got us there…" Cole sighed. "Do you think you can show us where it is?"

I nodded and stood up, setting the book down. "It's kind of far from here though."

"I might be able to help with that." Sensei held out some coins.

"What are those?"

"They'll help you go anywhere you want in the city." Sensei handed them out.

"Like a magic portal?"

"Oh- of a spinjitzu vortex?"

I took Kai's out of his hand to look at it and stifled a laugh. "It's a bus pass guys."

Sensei laughed. "Go on- you lead the way young one and help the ninja to stay out of trouble."

"Hey!"

I giggled. "Yes Sensei Wu."

So off we went! The four ninja took Lloyd along for the ride and the six of us got on the bus with little to no problems. I got a lot of stares though. "Mommy! Look! She has pink hair!"

"Get down sweety- don't point fingers it's rude." Said some kid's mother.

"But mommy! Why does she have pink hair? Can I have pink hair?"

I got incredibly self-conscious and felt myself blush. A girl around my age then walked up to me and said. "Where did your parents let you dye your hair?"

"I-it's not dyed." I said.

"What?"

"I didn't dye my hair."

"Wait- you're telling me that your hair is **naturally** pink?" She suddenly looked disgusted instead of intrigued.

"Well...yes…" I looked at the ground.

"What the heck? What kind of freak-"

"Leave her alone!" Lloyd stepped in front of me.

"Go back to your seat kid." Kai frowned (borderline glared) at the girl. She went with no more problems back to her parents and we got off at the next stop. I bit my lip and started walking away. "I-it's this way guys."

"Brittany- just ignore people like that, ok?" Cole said. "They don't know how to mind their own business!"

"It's ok." I looked at the five ninjas behind me. "I know I'm not normal."

"Brittany-"

"We're close to the dojo. Come on guys!" I said, turning on my heel and walked along the sidewalk.

When we got there- it was clear that the guys were less than impressed. " _This_ is where Lloyd is going to train?"

"Better than our dumpy apartment." Jay shrugged and went inside. When we were all inside, we were greeted by a man dressed in all brown with too much hair gel in his hair. "Welcome to Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo and I am grand Sensei Dareth. And I dareth you to join my dojo."

This Dareth guy then proceeded to try and pull off what looked like martial arts only to get tangled up in the bead threads behind him. We all sighed at his ridiculousness as he got himself down and showed us a wall of "trophies". Kai walked up to him- cutting him off from any more nonsense. "Look Dareth- we're looking to share your dojo. You see we've been put in charge to train this little guy-" (gesturing to Lloyd) "-to become the greatest ninja in all of Ninjago."

"Impossible." Dareth scoffed. "For **I** am the greatest in the land. How many trophies do you have?"

Jay ran a hand down his face and nearly groaned out loud. "Look, pal, we're the guys that just saved the city from that giant snake."

Dareth nearly laughed. "Am I looking at Lord Garmadon? Because unless I'm stupid- and I'm not- Lord Garmadon destroyed the Devourer."

"Haha- that's been a huge misunderstanding actually-"

"I'll let you guys train here!" Dareth cut Jay off. " But only on one condition- if you can defeat me. If you succeed then we'll share the dojo. But I warn you...I know all forms of animal combat- the tiger- the python- the penguin-"

We all smirked and watched as Kai drew up his hood and spinjitzu-ed Dareth off of his feet- winning the match in three seconds. I laughed. "Sometimes I forget how cool you guys can be."

"Excuse me- we're always cool." I laughed some more and shook my head. Dareth looked up from the ground. "How did you-"

"You might know animals but we know spinjitzu!" Kai proudly stood before Dareth with his hands on his hips.

Dareth then stood up, recovering from his girly scream fiasco "You can train in my dojo anytime."

So that's how to guys got a new place to train- they started immediately. They each took turns training Lloyd but now I started my training anew. However we all paused to watch Lloyd break ten boards with his bare fist. He was so strong that he not only broke the table but the floor beneath him cracked and split open- sending me into Zane's arms (because I was standing right on top of the quake (just my luck)). "Wow...he's strong."

"That was the power of the Scythe of Quakes!" Kai gasped. "And you did it without the golden weapon!"

"That must be why you have the potential to be the greatest ninja!" Zane set me down and stood up to his full height . "You can harness all of the elemental powers!"

Sensei sat down to the side and drank his tea as Lloyd looked at his hands. "Really? Cool!"

"With this power- you must control it." Sensei said. "You must control it before it controls you."

We all felt a wave of seriousness before Dareth came in and said. "I gotta admit, not bad for a kid but instead of ten boards, how about 50? Stack'em boys!"

Dareth then had some of his students come in with the boards and stack them on two pieces of concrete blocks. He proceeded to bash his hands against them, not even coming close to cracking them. I sighed and walked over to Lloyd. "Don't worry- you got us to help you through your challenges."

"I know." He smiled- his face turning a little red.

The ninja continued to train Lloyd until their allotted time was up and we all walked out of the dojo with high spirits. That is until we saw the Bounty fly right past our faces. "Hey! That's our ship!"

Lloyd and I looked at each other with excitement. "Pirates?"

"Impossible." Cole gasped. "Pirates haven't been around in centuries."

"Not where I'm from." I said. "But we call them grievers since they can also invade your home- it doesn't have to be on the seas."

"I don't think I like where you're from Brittany. It sounds too dangerous for a kid like you to have been on your own for so long."

I shrugged. "Once you learn how the world functions- it's really quite nice."

"Not the point guys!" Kai brought us back to the present.

Zane checked his scenarios. "I sense Lord Garmadon is behind this."

Lloyd looked around. "How are we gonna follow them?"

Kai them pulled out a bus pass and we used it to follow the pirate ship. The ninja all pulled over their hoods and stood up. Kai sighed. "I don't like the idea of the kids coming along. It's too dangerous."

I frowned. "I can help!"

"Please, please, please! I'll be super good!" Lloyd begged- but he was cut off by Zane who then said. "Your powers inside you are still too great- too uncontrollable."

"One day you'll be able to join us." Cole shrugged. "Sorry kid."

I perked up. "And me? I can fight! I can help!"

"We know you can but I don't feel good about-"

"Sure!" Jay shrugged. Kai and Cole glared at him. "What? We've seen her fight- while Lloyd is still a bit behind and unstable, I don't see why Brittany can't."

"He's got a point." Zane handed it to Jay. "Besides there is a good chance that we'll be outnumbered- if Brittany can fight along, I don't see either why she can't help out."

"Fine." Cole frowned. "But if you get hurt- you're not coming along with us again."

"Deal!" I grinned.

"You're the pink ninja today, ok?" Kai put a hand on my shoulder and guided me off the bus and to the roof. The bus had to stop with no warning at all- sending me to crash downwards while the guys flew off of the bus. Jay groaned. "We're trying to save the city here!"

I heard the guys groan some more and looked up. "The ship's getting away!"

"We know Brittany- thanks for the update!" Jay sassed.

I stuck my tongue out at him and jumped off of the side of the bus. "Brittany?! Where are you going?"

"To follow it!" I then ran away from the ninja and the bus and chased after the ship. While it was tempting to use a speed potion to catch up- I figured that the effects would last too long for my liking and I didn't have any milk on my person. Soon enough the ninja caught up to me and we stopped at an intersection to catch our breath. "Darn it Dareth." Kai cursed.

Cole looked away. "We need to get on that ship!"

Jay turned around and laughed a bit. "There are other ways for a ninja to hide in plain sight."

I turned around and saw a costume shop behind us. We all ran in bought little nick-nacks to make us look like pirates. I took out my iron sword for realism to go with my eye patch and ripped clothes- I felt a little silly with the get up on but if this is what it would take to join them so be it.

We were lucky that the pirates had stopped flying for a bit and while we had the chance, we all climbed on board the ship and waited as they tried to make Dareth walk the plank. Jay looked to Kai. "We have to save him."

"But we can't get close enough without blowing our cover."

"Now!" Screamed the captain. "Who wants to see him go splat?"

"Who here wants to see him live?" Jay mimicked their form of talking.

The cheering from the crew stopped and the captain made Dareth walk closer to the edge of the plank. In a panic Dareth started listing all the ways he was a fraud- felt belts, fake trophies- he knew he sucked at fighting. Our group groaned.

Within seconds- the captain pushed Dareth off of the plank sending him into a fit of girlish screams. From the side I saw Lloyd come in on his dragon to save the falling man- the ninja took that as their cue to drop their disguises with some good ol' fashioned spinjitzu. Not wanted to feel left out, I did just as they did.

"More pajama men?" The captain tilted his head.

I stifled a laugh. "Pajama men?"

"Ninja vs pirates...who will win?" Kai mused.

The pirates took out their weapons and tried to intimidate us away. The ninja (and I) took out our weapons and took a fighting stance- Cole moved first and cut off the feather from the captain's hat. That angered the whole crew and sent them into attack mode. Zane pinned the captain against the main staff with his shurikens while the guys took on a fair share of the crew. One by one the guys knocked the crew off board- a few members stalked up to me during the distraction. "It's just a kid."

"Arg- but look at 'er...a head that fine would certainly sell." Another said.

I growled and attacked them both with my sword. "I"m not being sold to anyone!"

"Feisty that one- take 'er boys. We'll show 'er to the captain!"

I fought against them but they were stronger than me, right as I was about to be over powered, I yelled "NINJA GO!" and spinjitzu-ed my way out of the corner I was trapped into. I swung at the pirates with my sword and saw them fly off one by one. I blinked. "This sword shouldn't...oh…"

I didn't realise it but I took out my sword that had the knock back on it instead of my plain iron sword. To this day I don't really know if those men were ever ok afterwards.

From the corner of my eye I saw Jay throw down a bunch of little gumballs- which proceeded to trip both the pirates and the ninja. "JAY!"

"Whoops...sorry."

Just then- Lloyd jumped off of the dragon and landed on the ship- knocking both a pirate and Zane over. Unfortunately he stopped right in front of the captain who wasted no time in going to strike Lloyd. He was lucky that Kai jumped in to block the shot. "Lloyd! You're not supposed to be here!"

Kai then shoved Lloyd in a barrel and continued to fight. That didn't stop the boy though. Even if Lloyd couldn't see, he moved around in the barrel and managed to knock the captain down. I couldn't see what happened to him next though because more pirates were coming after me that I had to fight. It wasn't long before we were only a handful of pirates away taking back the Bounty. Lloyd thought that ti wouldn't be a good idea to create an enemy bubble thing to launch at the pirate- Kai disagreed with his apparent idea. "Lloyd- don't! You're powers are too uncontrollable!"

But Lloyd didn't listen.

He let go of the energy bubble but it went backwards and hit one of the masts, sending it falling onto us despite the logic. The sails fell down on top of the ninja, trapping all five of them. I ran in the opposite direction and escaped the falling rubble but there wasn't much I could do to help. The captain stood on top of the sail and laughed. "You lose pajama people. Now you're all walking the plank!"

I gulped and fell backwards out of shock when Nay landed right next to me in her Samurai suit. She effortlessly lifted the sail and put in back in its rightful place, freeing the ninja and scaring the pirates. She then got out of the suit and landed on the fallen captain. My grin stretched to both of my eyes. Jay batted was smiling from under his hood - I could tell. "Who win in a battle between ninja vs pirates? It's Samourai!"

Nya laughed and helped the ninja to round up the pirates and bring them down from the bounty and to the police below. One of the cops congratulated our team. "Good work team!"

Kai smiled and put his arms around me and Lloyd. "Don't forget to include these two!"

The cops looked over and asked. "Is that your ship?"

Jay grinned. "It sure is."

"Sorry!" A voice called out. "You snooze- you lose!"

I nearly cried- we could have had our home back then and there but stupid Garmadon had to take control of it. We didn't even know where he came from!

"You're becoming stronger son!" He yelled to Lloyd. "But you'll never be strong enough to defeat me! Give up!"

Lloyd bit his lip and looked to us. I didn't really know what to think at the time- I was only hoping that Lloyd wouldn't lose heart. The boy in question looked up again to his father and made his way to stand with the rest of us. Garmadon wasn't too fond of the action unlike the rest of us. "Have it your way! Another day ninja! Another day!"

Jay growled. "Great! Just great! Lord Garmadon in back and now he has our ship!"

Lord Garmadon had his snake crew lead our ship away from the area- we all watched as our home left. Cole sighed but brought a better mood to the table. "Yeah- but at least we have this one."

Once again he was talking about Lloyd.

Behind was Dareth who wanted to ask something of the ninja. "Oh come on guys...I dareth you to forgive me..."

I laughed along with the others and helped the guy to his feet. I then turned to the ninja and tugged on Zane's gi. "Can we go home now? I'm hungry."

"How about we eat out tonight?" Jay offered.

"Yeah!" Lloyd unlocked his spinjitzu and you-" Cole picked me up and put me on his shoulders."- were a big help today! We should celebrate!"

We all started walking in some random direction.

"Yeah good idea! There's a place off of 75th street." Kai offered.

Nya shook her head. "Nope- I went there the other day and got awful service. What about Ninjago Buffet?"

"Don't. Cole would eat everything and the bill would be too much to handle." Jay rolled his eyes.

"Hey!"

I laughed and patted Cole's head.

' _I think I'll stay for a little longer, no matter what may happen.'_


	8. Lloyd Grows Up

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It started off as somewhat normal day./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Jay was trying to get Lloyd to light up a lightbulb with nothing but his mind and his own energy but then the bulb exploded. It was Lloyd's tenth failed attempt. They ended up running out of lightbulbs./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I felt the need to pick up Lloyd's spirits after seeing him so dejected. "It's ok Lloyd! Just keep trying- you'll get the hang of it in no time. No one's a master of their craft on the first day."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Whatever Brittany."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Clean up Lloyd." Cole handed the boy a broom to clean up the broken glass. "We'll try again tomorrow."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I sighed and looked out the window. Some construction workers came up with a tethered wrecking ball and moved to swing it. I blinked and stepped back. "Uh- guys?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What is it Brittany?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Duck!"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The wrecking ball smashed through the wall- destroying the whole thing. Dareth came in running out of his backroom screaming at the people to stop. "What are you doing?! This wasn't supposed to happen till tomorrow!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The main guys in the construction crew took the paper Dareth led out to them and said. "Oh you're right! Our bad...see you in the morning!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What was that about Dareth?" Jay asked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Kai moved over to me and helped me up. "You ok? You were the closest out of all of us."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I breathed out a pitiful laugh, shaking in my shoes. "I'm fine...just shaking…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Kai gave me a hug to calm me down then moved to check on Lloyd. Dareth then explained that he fell behind on a few of his payments and this contracter by the name of Darnagom put a claim on his dojo. So if Dareth couldn't come up with 50,000 units of money by the next day then the dojo would be lost./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Wait a minute!" Zane furrowed his eyebrows. "Darnagom? When you rearrange the letters- it spells Garmadon!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""My dad is behind this?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If we lose the dojo- where would we train Lloyd?" Cole looked at Sensei Wu./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Dareth sighed. "Any chance you have 50,000 in that teapot of yours?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Worry not Dareth. You are not in this alone." Sensei stepped over some broken glass to get to Dareth. "We're all with you."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Did someone say 50,000?" Nya barged in./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Jay gasped. "You didn't happen to win the lottery, did you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No- but I did hear about Ninjaball Run."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ninjaball Run?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's the biggest race in all of Ninjago, with the grand prize of 100,000 big ones. And it's tomorrow!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Dareth wiped away a tear. "I thank you little lady fighter but you're talking about the most dangerous race known to man. Only the most serious racers stand a chance."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""But didn't you just do a few upgrades on our ultra sonic racer?" Kai received a nod from Nya. "Maybe we might stand a chance!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And I can enter my dragon!" Lloyd grinned. "You did say I needed the practice."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So it's settled then." Sensei nodded. "You all will enter this Ninjaball Run- to save the dojo."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I tugged on Lloyd's gi. "Can I ride with you Lloyd? I wanna join!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He smiled. "Y-yeah! Of course!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes!" I beamed, now even more excited for the next day./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Dareth started crying again so Nya went to talk to him about it. The next few hours were spent cleaning up the mess of the wrecking ball and fixing the wall to the best of the ninja's abilities. Despite my claims - no one wanted to believe that I could fix the wall and thus was not allowed to help./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The rest of the day went by in a blur and without any time machine, I found myself on the track- on top of the dragon- about to start Ninjaball Run. Since Lloyd was the designated driver- I figured at the time that I wouldn't really have to pay attention to the announcements as they explained the track and the "rules"./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you ok Brittany?" Lloyd looked at me. "You seem really jumpy?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's because I am." I grinned. "But it's a good kind of jumpy."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If you say so."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We both looked ahead of us at the lights and took out positions. The light beamed a red light- then a yellow. These crucial moments seemed to last an eternity before the light changed to green and we all took off down the street and eventually out of Ninjago City. I took a quick behind us to see that the Ninja went stuck at the starting point before Lloyd made a wrong turn and lead us away from the race. "Lloyd! What are you doing? We have to get back into the race!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I know!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah but the ninja are stuck- it's up to us right now until they catch up!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You've got be kidding me!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I wish I was! Turn here!" I pointed to the upcoming left turn and watched as our surroundings changed little by little until we saw the cars under us. Which quickly changed to the back of our Bounty- that Lloyd gloriously crashed into. It seemed to be good luck though because a cannon was shot at that nina- but our crash caused them to miss./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lloyd flew past the Bounty and by the ninja- only to drop the reins. He tried to get it but both the reins and Lloyd fell down. I screamed and saw Lloyd hanging on and talking to the ninja below. I moved out of my spot and grabbed parts of the reins. Slowly but surely I pulled them up and Lloyd returned to his drivers spot. "We're going to help each other Brittany! We're teaming up with the ninja!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I thought that was the plan from the beginning!" I had to yell over the wind. "We have the same goal- don't we?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Uh- yeah...I guess!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I sighed and saw the dessert underneath us turn to snow and soon a multitude of trees appeared. From our spot I could hear Cole yell (somehow). "We won't be able to get through with all these trees!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lloyd then called back,"I'll try to find a shortcut!" and lead the dragon upwards. From there we saw a clear path and flew back down to lead the ninja through it. It turned out to be a good move because the ninja made up for the time they lost and soon we were all back in the race./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But apparently some of the skeletons that joined saw us and used their hand claw thing to grab onto the dragon bringing Lloyd and me down to the ground. We were screaming as we crashed and fortunately landed on the snow- away from the dragon./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It didn't end well for the skeletons though- the chain get caught and wrapped around a tree- taking the skeletons out as well./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I groaned and stood up, holding my head. "Are you ok Lloyd?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah- I'm fine. You?" He stood up as well with some help./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I breathed out a small laughed, shaking off my nerves. "Could be better...do you think the dragon's ok?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you ok fella?" Lloyd asked him- he got a nod as a response. I walked up to the ice head and petted it. "You did great out there. Rest for a bit ok?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I got a nod back and turned to Lloyd. "At least they're back on the race!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah...at least we got them back in the race..."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lloyd?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm fine- we should started to head back to Ninjago City."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Let the dragon rest Lloyd." I frowned and sat in the snow. "I'm sure he's tired."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Aren't you cold?" Lloyd took off his hood and raised an eyebrow./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I shrugged and watched as the dragon stood up. "Not really- Minecraftians don't really get cold...or too hot."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If you say so- I don't really get what you mean when you say those kind of things but ok." Lloyd climbed back on top of his dragon. "Ready to go home boy?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The dragon nodded and helped me to climb up and sit next to Lloyd. "Let's go home then."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So Lloyd flew the dragon back the way we came and "parked" the dragon. The two of us then walked back to the finish line where people were celebrating the ninja's victory. Garmadon however was yelling about how the way the ninja won wasn't even street legal. Lloyd and I then climbed onto the ship and told Garmadon off- successfully taking back our home at last. Lloyd grinned. "I believe this belongs to us!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah!" I pulled out my sword and held it to my side. A silent challenge for him to try and take it back./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The police then walked up to Garmadon- attempting to take him away but the snake bus pulled out in front of them and Garmadon get away. We then walked down to where the others were celebrating the cash prize given to them./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We all laughed as Dareth did a cannonball into the cash and then we moved out of the small closet we were living in and back into our ship./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I slept like a baby that night./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The next few days were spent repainting the Bounty to how we had it before (even if it looked pretty in purple) and fixing up what the snakes or Garmadon had broken while they were here. When that was done the ninja moved their training out of the dojo and back into the ship./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Since I was once again considered chopped liver- I spent my time helping Nya or Sensei or reading Lloyd's comic books. I wasn't practicing my bending as I should have since no one was looking or trying to get better at my hand to hand combat...or my spinjitzu. I just didn't have any motivation at the time but it should have been how I spent it./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"One night, the ninja went out on a mission to check (or stop) the Serpentine and Garmadon. But they didn't return when we expected them too./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When daylight broke out, Sensei and Nya left Lloyd and I to our own devices as they left to find out where were the ninja. It wasn't until late afternoon that Lloyd and I had to pause a video game we were playing to a answer a phone call. Lloyd sighed and said. "Destiny's Bounty."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lloyd let me talk to Sensei!" Jay panicked voice came from the phone's speaker./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Jay?" Lloyd paused his hands- the little punk was about to start the game again. "Where are you? Why haven't you returned? Sensei's out looking for you."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Jay groaned. "Apparently you need parental to take the bus and we can't seem to get out of the city!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That took my attention. "What?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Nevermind! It's a bit complicated! Just meet us at Buddy's Pizza in ten minutes! And bring our weapons!" Lloyd fell off of his chair trying to put the phone back. I rolled my eyes and picked up the phone. "We're on our way Jay."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Then hung up./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Come on Lloyd- let's go!" I put my controler away and walked out of the room to collect the ninja's weapons./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lloyd followed not far behind and picked up Cole's scythe and Jay's nunchucks. I tucked Kai's sword and Zane's shurikens into my inventory- I offered to carry the other weapons but Lloyd wouldn't have it (he even protested in me carrying half of them in the beginning but I wouldn't hear it)./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We arrived a little later than planned at Buddy's Pizza but walked in with no ninja in sight. I looked around- taking in the environment. It was nice...family friendly...not much to it though. As Lloyd and I were walking deeper into the pizzeria we tried to hear some familiar voices but got no results./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Psst! Lloyd! Brittany!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We looked toward a kid around our age with a red hoodie and spiked hair. I felt a small blush appear on my nine year old face- he was cute./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Beat it brat." Lloyd spat. "We're on a mission."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lloyd went to walk away but the kid stopped him. "It's me! Kai!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ok- blush gone./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I blinked and looked at the other boys that sat at the table. They all had similar characteristics to the ninja- it couldn't really be them though, right?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lloyd gasped and dropped the weapons he was carrying. "What? What happened you're...uh...um..SMALL?!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"People stopped what they were doing and looked in our direction. I blushed out of embarrassment and looked away. Kai shushed Lloyd and hissed. "Keep it down! We're trying to lay low- your father's mega weapon not only turned us into kids but unleashed a monster who's sole purpose is to hunt down ninja!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Typical Garmadon!" Cole groaned./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And everytime we try to tell someone- they don't believe us because we're kids." Jay griped./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I giggled while Lloyd started laughing uncontrollably. "Now you know how we feel when you completely dismiss us."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lloyd dropped the weapons on the table. "And now you know what it's like to be treated differently."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""This is serious." Zane looked more concerned than the others. "If we don't turn big so that we can use our spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance against the grundle."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What about us?" Lloyd tilted his head./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I nodded in agreement. "Yeah we know spinjitzu."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""True- but you don't know the grundle." Kai shook his head. "We all need to be at full strength-" I blinked and realized I still had Zane's and Kai's weapons and put them on the table as well. "-what we need to do is find someone who might know more about how to beat one of those things!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lloyd smirked. "I think I know just the guy- follow me."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I shrugged and walked out of the pizza place with Lloyd. The ninja followed us out and walked with us silently as Lloyd led us to a comic book store. They guy's didn't seem too convinced. Cole groaned. "You brought us to a comic book store?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Trust me- if there's anyone who knows how to defeat a monster that doesn't exist- I know just the person to talk to." Lloyd led us deeper into the store. I smiled. '/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So this is where he gets his comics from.'/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Jay scared me when he freak out over a comic he used to read as a kid...he put it back claiming that it was childish. I frowned at him but said nothing- Lloyd only rolled his eyes and pushed the ninja forward. "Fellas! Meet Rufus McCaliger a.k.a. Mother Doomsday!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lloyd!" Said the cashier- he could have been only enough to be my father...with a beard and what appeared to be the need of a hair cut. "Sorry if you came looking for the latest StarFare- we've just sold out."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""SOLD OUT?!" Lloyd cried. I jumped in surprise and smacked Lloyd's shoulder. "Uh- right, actually Mother Doomsday, we need help."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well color me intrigued."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We have problem- there's a grundle on the loose and we need to know how to deal with it." Lloyd and the others watched as the owner of the establishment went to talk to his heart's desire. "Ah- a hypothetical question. Well- Dramaserid Therapod Grundalicus- who- although extinct there had been a plethora of movies, shows and comics exploring the mythology around the prime ordeal predator. Supposedly- they always get their prey."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Kai looked at the man in awe. "Sounds like he knows his stuff."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can it be stopped?" Lloyd cut in./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""The first thing you need to know is that its thick shell like hide is invincible to swords, scythes, nunchucks and throwing stars. So your cheap imitations will do nothing to slow him down."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well what if the sword was made of diamond?" I stole the attention. "And if it's enchanted?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well little lady- swords of that caliber do not exist-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""But to say that they did- would it help?" I cut him off, ignoring his unintentional gab at my home life and favorite weapon./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I suppose that in this hypothetical scenario- it would be stronger than a normal sword but it would take many hits to do any proper damage." He put back a comic (with the Grundel on the cover) back on the shelf he took it from. "Second of all- it's nocturnal and will only hunt at night."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh good." Jay sighed in relief. "That means since it's still daylight we can relax for a bit."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The man looked at Jay weirdly while we all silently berated Jay for nearly blowing our cover. "I meant theoretically of course."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mother Doomsday waved Jay's weird outburst away before continuing. "And the only way to defeat this monster is with light! Like a vampire- with enough of it- it could potentially destroy him!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He then led us to a glass cabinet filled with purple lightsabers while I cursed myself for not having any glowstone with me. "If I had my weapons of choice- may I recommend the illumi-sword?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ok- not lightsabers- but they looked cool./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""They are authentic replicas that will come in handy for you to live long enough to actually face a grundle. And if swords are your thing then may I interest you in authentic ninja gi- signed by the ninja that saved the city." Mother Doomsday finished./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Uh...we'll just take the light swords. " Kai went to take one but was stopped. "Not so fast! This StarFare combo pack can only be won in the Frits Donegan trivia battle royal. Do you have what it takes to be the best?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We all looked over to a group of kids who wore costumes from their favorite comic. I shook Lloyd's shoulder. "Enter Lloyd! You can do it!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He smirked. "Sign me up."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Within the next hour Lloyd had been enrolled in the trivia battle and started with a boy with an alien goop hat. He started off strong, getting every question right- until he was part of the last two contestants. If he got the next question right then he would win, but by this time, the sun was setting and it was a question in the new comic Lloyd couldn't read...so naturally the other kid answered the question first and correctly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Right when the winner was declared, the lights went out and front sign fell over, scaring everyone. Kai gulped. "It's here."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What's here?" Mother Doomsday looked at our group./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know that theoretical question we asked you earlier?" Jay nervously laughed./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not the-" The man was cut off by a giant foot that stepped on glass ceiling. I gasped and moved myself closer to the ninja. "We have to do something!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We have to get out of here!" Zane yelled and all of us ran to the doors only to have them blocked by the fallen sign. "The door is jammed! We can't get out!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I looked up and saw the grundle walk across the glass and towards us. "It's coming guys!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The grundle's foot then broke through the glass completely before it's whole body fell into the store. "We're doomed."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It's tail broke the glass casing to the ninja's gi- causing them to run in that direction. I took the monster's attention by running in the opposite direction and pulling my sword out. "Hey ugly! Over here!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""McNasty! I thought ninja were on your menu!" Cole yelled just as the monster took a few steps toward me. I pouted. "Let me help darn it!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The light from the lightsabers that the ninja held up confused the monster. Lloyd grinned. "It's working."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The ninja then went to hit the monster with the weapons...only breaking them in the process and losing the light. "We got a problem guys."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I frowned and yelled. "Ninja go!" I spinjitzu-ed my way to the side of the monster- holding my sword out as I spun. The monster screeched and nearly fell over. When I looked up from my landing- I saw cuts on the side of the grundle's side with smoke coming out of each one. "I can hit it!" I gasped. "I can hit it guys!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The monster then flung the ninja into the front desk with one sweep of its arm before turning its attention to me. I gulped and readied my sword, taking my stance before running to it. "Brittany no!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I jumped and latched onto the creature's back- escaping its jaws, then proceeded to attack it with all that I had. I made a considerable amount of damage before the creature flung me off and whacked me with its tail into parts of the damaged store. I hit my head pretty bad during my collision and blacked out./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When I woke up, I was being shaken by a very concerned adult looking Kai. I blinked. "Are we dead?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh thank goodness! She's awake!" He yelled over his shoulder. The whole crew ran over to me in an instant. I looked around and saw that we were back on the Bounty and I was in my old bed. I sat up and put my hand to my head- there were bandages there. "What happened?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You hit your head a little too hard when you crashed Pinky." Cole said./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You've been asleep for the past ten hours." Zane piped up. "The damage is minimal but take it easy for the next few days, ok?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I nodded, looking at everyone. "You're all big again...how?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Magical tea- we used it to age the grundle and return it to bones." Kai ruffled my hair. "You were a great help though. You bought us enough time to use it."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I did?" I blinked and smile a bit. "So...I did good?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You did awesome." Sensei smiled at me. I grinned even if I had a slight headache. That's when I noticed someone was missing. "Where's Lloyd?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""He's...uh…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm here." A new voice spoke up. The whole crew turned around, successfully blocking my view. Jay nervously laughed. "Lloyd...do you think this is a good idea? I thought you said that you weren't going her until...you know…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I know that's what I said but she's still my friend. She's also going to see me around the ship anyway...might as well let her see me as I am now." He said./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I sat up straighter trying to see over the ninja's heads. "Lloyd? Is that you? Why do you sound different?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lloyd…" Nya trailed off from her sentence but gathered enough courage to finish it. "...Lloyd was also affected by the magical tea."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The older ones stepped aside for me to see an older Lloyd Garmadon. He still wore his green gi but his hair was different- he was taller and I think we already covered his voice. I stared at Lloyd with my mouth agape. "Lloyd? ...You grew up…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hi Brittany...how are you feeling?" He smiled at me and took a few steps forward./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I groaned and put my hands on my head. "My head hurts...but I think I'm fine. I didn't age up...but nothing feels broken."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's good. It's better if we keep your injuries to a max count of one." He said, holding up one finger./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I smiled and realized something. "So I'm the youngest again?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sensei chuckled, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Yes Brittany, you are the youngest again."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I pouted. "Darn it."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know what? I think she's going to be ok." Cole grinned and ruffled my hair. "Do you want to eat something? It's almost lunch time."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I nodded and moved to get out of my bed. "Yeah! I'm starving!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ok then- let's go!" Kai took my hand and led me down the hallway. "You're taking this well Brittany."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""He won't be able to play anymore games with me…" I sighed. "You're going to make him work harder aren't you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Uh...yes….but it's for the greater good-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I know, I know...the green ninja must defeat the evil overlord as it is his destiny. I heard your speeches everyday now...I just don't have a lot of friends my age and when I do- they just so happen to be the chosen one." I sighed again and hopped onto a chair. "You're all going to forget about me, I just know it."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We are not." Kai looked at me right in the eye and said. "You're a part of our family and we will not forget you. This will all be over and then we'll have fun again, ok?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I can already see the pattern here, and I doubt it.'/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" I shrugged. "If you say so Kai."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I know so."/spanspan id="docs-internal-guid-e819fbbf-7fff-0664-1739-e6298882e333"/span/p 


	9. Are We Any Closer to the End?

First of all- he lied but it wasn't until months later that I had realised it.

As I predicted the ninja spent more of their time training Lloyd while I was left to my own devices but there were no more comics to read and I couldn't use the training grounds. I was practicing my bending more but I still had that irrational fear of getting caught.

On one the ninja's training sessions with Lloyd- we got an alarm telling us of Garmadon's location and actions in Orabourus. We flew to the location as fact as we could. Sensei then pulled me aside and gave me a box. "Put this on."

I took it from the old man and opened it. "What is it?"

"Your gi. You are a part of the team, are you not? I feel that you are capable enough to join. Wear it proudly young one."

I took it out of the box and grinned. "Thank you Sensei Wu!"

I still remember it- it was pink with silver highlights and a dragon embroidered on its side. It was beautiful.

With my new gi on- I jumped down from the Bounty with everyone else and ran with them until we reached Garmadon. Sensei stepped up first- followed by the four ninja and me and Nya in the back. Lloyd then jumped in between his father and uncle- freezing Garmadon's mega weapon. Garmadon gasped and took a step back. "Lloyd? Is that you?"

"Yeah-" Lloyd stood tall. "-I've grown a little since the last time you saw me dad."

I rolled my eyes. ' _More than a little…'_

"Gah! Stop him!" Garmadon ordered the snakes to attack us as he ran away.

I took out my iron sword and fought against the snakes- trying to break through their lines and follow Garmadon. It didn't take long for us to get through and follow the evil man. When we caught up to him- he jumped through a portal- leaving the ground beneath us to slowly be covered by sand. Jay groaned. "Um- is the city sinking?"

"Worse." Zane gulped. "It is reverting back to the desert as if it had never been found!"

"What does that mean?"

"Garmadon's gone back in time to make sure Lloyd doesn't become the green ninja!"

Lloyd spoke up, "I can't...I can't feel my hands."

"If he changes anything- he changes everything!" Sensei yelled. "He must be stopped-"

I didn't even finish listening to Sensei before running to the best of my abilities (as the sand was already up to my waist) and spinjitzu-ed through the portal. I landed in a watery "grass" field- the ninja then fell behind me, splashing me even more. Kai stood up first and growled. "Brittany- are you insane?!"  
"Not as insane as Garmadon!" I snapped and walked out of the farm. "I'm not going to let him hurt you guys- I'm helping whether you like it or not."

"Brittany- that was dangerous-"

"Doesn't being a ninja mean it comes with occupational hazards?" I crossed my arms.

"We'll discuss this later." Cole stepped in. "Where are we?"

"You mean when are we?" Zane gestured in front of us.

"Four Weapons….my parents shop!" Kai grinned and started walking around. "Hehe...Nya and I use to work there! Hay, wait a minute- this is the day Garmadon ordered the skeletons to take my sister!"

I gasped. "This is the day when I first met you."

"We have to warn them."

"Whoa, Kai...calm down." Cole stopped Kai from running ahead. "You heard Sensei, you change one thing, you change everything."

I nodded and started walking toward the shop as the guys talked. I figured Garmadon would change something here so why not check the area? From a distance, I could see myself asking the farmers about my tag and getting more and more discouraged. I sighed to myself and took my tag from under my gi.

I stared at it for a while before catching up to the guys as they snuck up behind past Sensei. We caught up to him and hid by the side of the shop until Sensei walked past.

When he did, Kai grabbed a hold of him and brought him to us. "Sensei we need your help!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" Jay paused. "If we're trying to stop Garmadon from changing everything then wouldn't talking to Sensei be altering the past thus changing our future?"

We all took off our hoods as Zane answered Jay's question. "That would be correct."

"But what's done is done." I said. "Can't change it now."

Kai sighed. "Brittany's right- Sensei we could really use your help."

"All four of you...you..you…" Sensei couldn't grasp the situation, the poor man.

"-traveled back in time to warn you of impending doom. "Cole cut in.

"I don't understand...but I will try." Sensei sighed. "But who is this young one?" Que the gesture in my direction.

"I'm Brittany! I walked with you on the road earlier!" I smiled.

"So you did-" Sensei nodded. "If you are with them then I must keep you close the, yes?"

"Yes." Zane said. "She is one of your students and a part of our family."

"I see."

"Ok, any moment now the skeletons are going to attack and we think Garmadon might try to hurt me." Kai took over- explaining the "plan" as fast as he could. "I mean past me."

"Garmadon?"

"We have to do everything in our power to protect my past self." Kai said.

The clouds came over the land just as I remembered it. The skeletons then drove over and started attacking the place. Out group watched by the wall to stay hidden. Kai sighed. "Do we help or not?"

"Don't look at me." Sensei sighed. "I'm wise but not **that** wise."

I jumped up and down and pointed out. "Look! Look! There I am!"

My past self came running in with my diamond in hand and started fighting off the skeleton. Cole gasped. "I knew you were good but you started your training like that?!"

"NO- I was trained in Minecraftia, I told you this." I pouted- but past me looked awesome! As I expected, my past self started to get overpowered by numbers and strength. I saw Jay tense up. "You might be in a pickle soon Brittany- how did you get out of this?"

"Sensei saved me with spinjitzu." I looked to him.

"So he saved us both today?" Kai sighed. " The good ol' days."

"Well- I think that if the past has already been altered-" Zane started. "-I don't see why we can't help. As long as your past selves don't see you."

Cole laughed. "You just made my day Zane!"

Jay turned around and took out his nunchucks. "I miss beating these guys up." He then proceeded to attack the three skeletons behind us, Sensei ran out to what I assumed was to spare my past self and eventually Kai. I didn't get involved with the fighting but watched for any suspicious activity from the skeleton side.

"Lord Garmadon says TAKE THE GIRL!" Samukai yelled. I ran out and watched as the claw thing missed Nya. I gasped and ran to the others. "Garmadon is disguised as a skeleton! They didn't take Nya! Where's Kai?"

"Over here!" Cole grabbed my hand and pulled me to where Sensei and Kai were hiding.

Kai groaned. "This isn't good."

"Why? We saved you, the young one and your sister." Sensei tilted his head.

"No! They were supposed to take Nya- the only reason you convinced me to be a ninja was to get her back." Kai sighed.

"Oh." as those three started to

I started losing feeling in my hands and feet. "Guys…" I gulped. "I can't feel my hands...or my feet."

"Where is your past self?" Zane asked. I looked up at him. "I don't know- I stayed to listen to Sensei tell his story about the four weapons."

"We need to get Brittany to go with you Sensei and you need to convince Kai to become a ninja." Jay said.

"Guys I'm scared." I felt tears well up in my eyes. "What if I disappear?"

"We won't let that happen." Cole put a hand on my shoulder. "Kai's coming! Hide!"

I was then picked up and carried to the other side of the water...thing and watched as Sensei tried to get Kai to go with him. It was Nya though who wanted to go and and convinced Kai to go as well. ' _Nya has Kai wrapped around her finger- doesn't she?...and Jay too I guess.'_

As soon as those three started to leave, I saw my past self run up to Sensei. "Hey! I think you were the one who saved me earlier! I wanted to thank you!"

Jay snickered. "You're always so nice."

"It wasn't any problem young one." Sensei nodded.

"Oh! Before I forget, does this tag look familiar to you? Or do you think you can translate it?" Past me took out the tag from a pocket and held it in their view.

Kai sighed. "Sorry kid- I don't know what it's written in...and it doesn't ring any bells either."

"Why is it special to you?" Nya spoke up.

My past self pocketed the tag and stared at the ground. "I'm looking for my parents...this is my only clue as to where they are."

"But I thought you said your parent were close." Sensei stepped forward.

"I-I know." Past me stuttered. "I thought they would have been...I've been looking for them for a while now. I'm not from here either..so I don't know where to start looking really."

Their gazes softened and Sensei took me in as I remember it. The ninja looked at me with saddened eyes and lowered hoods. Jay ruffled my hair and one by one they left the hiding spot. The feeling returned to my hands and feet, allowing my to move on my own again. Zane looked to me and gave me a hug. "You'll learn your past just as I have- I know it."

I smiled. "Thanks Zane."

"Come on- we have to follow them and make sure I become a ninja." Kai led the way away from the shop and the monastery. The trip was quiet because I'm sure that we just didn't want to give our cover away.

When we reached the monastery- we stayed low and watched Kai, Nya and myself train. Past Kai wasn't doing so hot and Present Kai was taking the hits...emotionally. "Gah! I'm worthless!"

"It's like you don't want to become a ninja." Jay commented.

Kai sighed. "I told you- the only reason I became a ninja was to rescue my sister."

"Then let's have you rescue her." I said. The ninja all looked at me in shock and silently motioned me for me to continue. "We kidnap Nya, give her to the skeletons and Kai has a reason to fight. Simple."

"I thought that was what we weren't supposed to do. Change anything, change everything." Jay bit his lip.

"That was before Garmadon altered the past- we have to clean up the mess now and I think Brittany's idea is the only one we got, so let's use it." Cole sighed.

Kai nodded. "Whatever it takes. But if it's alright with you guys...I have an idea how to talk some sense into myself."

"Alright." Zane agreed. "Apologies Brittany but you might want to stay out of the next part."

"What? Why?" I pouted. "You saw me fight, I can do it!"

"Because as much as we like having you here and helping us- we can't take any chances. Besides your future is saved ...right?" Kai gently punched my shoulder. "I just don't want little sister number two getting into any more problems than necessary."

"Just leave it to us for tonight ok Brittany?" Jay tilted his head.

I sighed and crossed my arms to show my displeasure. "Fine."

They struck at night and kidnapped Nya from her bed. I had to stay hidden as the past Cole, Zane and Jay started attacking. Present Kai came in and yook Nya and ran with her. I hated being quiet but I could only watch as my past self came out and investigated Nya's cries from our kidnapping and came face to face with the other three. Sensei ran out not long after but I ran away with my group. The last thing I heard were Kai's broken screams.

The rest of the night was spent tracking down the skeletons to return Nya and me- not being used to such late nights- fell asleep on Cole's back. When I woke up the next morning, Nya was gone and we were on our way to follow the past ninja to collect the golden weapons. The rest happened as I remember it and we were soon back at the fire temple- watching over our sleeping forms. Sensei was awake this time though and watched with us in the trees. Jay groaned. "Why are we still here? Didn't we restore everything?"

"But we have to make sure it all goes to plan!" Cole whispered yelled back.

Sensei then looked up at Kai and said. "So- what exactly happens next?"

"Our former selves now have most of the golden weapons so Garmadon should have my sister. In about one minute I get woken up and tricked into taking the sword of fire that would eventually release the greatest nemesis to Ninjago." Kai nodded in self confirmation as we watched Past Kai be led away from the group.

I blinked. "Oh...so that's what happened to you."

Once Past Kai was far enough, we all climbed down the tree and followed them inside. Past Kai was then being taunted by Garmadon as Nya hung by a chain above the lava. In one swoop Kai took the sword and saved his sister from being burned alive. They walked around the area- keeping their eyes peeled when suddenly Past Garmadon came out in front of them and laughed. Past Kai when to defend the two of them but Present Garmadon stepped out of the shadows and went to attack Kai. Present Kai gasped and nearly ran forward. "We have to do something! I don't stand a chance against Garmadon's four arms! Wait! That's it!"

Kai ran out of our spot and went to defend his past self. "I guess I have four arms too."

Both Kais worked together to fight Garmadon when Zane jumped into the fight and caused Present Garmadon to back up even more. Cole stood right behind him though and waited for the enemy to crash into him.

Right as it looked like they were going to have the upper hand, Past Garmadon stepped in and knocked the ninja over. I gasped "Oh no! Guys!"

Cole growled. "I think it's safe to say the past has been drastically changed."

Zane then went on to say that if they could destroy the mega weapon...it would erase all changes in the past...theoretically though. Cole disagreed saying that the mega weapon was too powerful to be destroyed. That's when Jay stepped in with the other golden weapons. "Like the weapons use to create it in the first place?"

"NO!"

"I thought these might come in handy." Jay tossed Cole his scythe and Zane, his shurikens. Jay grinned and watched as the ninja launched their elements one by one to Garmadon's weapon. Soon all of the golden weapons fused and were launched into space where it exploded. Everything faded and crumpled after that and when I opened my eyes again- we were in the Bounty's training room. Jay was the first to speak. "Did we just...travel back to the future?"

"This feels familiar- but weren't we training Lloyd?" Cole asked. I bit my lip and focus on not shaking. "Did we mess up?"

"Sorry I'm late guys." Lloyd stepped through the door, closing it behind him. "Are we ready to start training?"

Everyone grinned as wide as their mouths would allow and ran towards the green ninja- giving the biggest hug that we could.

Everything was going to be ok.

And then we found Lloyd's mom.

It started out as a normal day- the guys were doing their training while Nya and I focused on our own strengths. As usual we heard the alarms go off and Nya went to fill the Ninja in on what was needed. I stayed behind while Sensei and the guys went to check on what was happening to the museum.

Nya went to finish up the dragon's mess that the ninja left behind while I took the opportunity to work on my earthbending. I had gotten basic movements down- moving the rocks, crushing them, using them as amo to launch. After an hour of two Nya got a call that the coast was clear at the museum.

I then thought that I could go there to see what the fuss was about. When I arrived, I saw the ninja and Sensei talking amongst themselves...but there was no green ninja. I walked up to them and said. "Hi guys- so what happened?"

"Brittany! What are you doing here?"

"We got the all clear and I wanted to see. That and I've never been to the Ninjago National Museum before." I shrugged. "So what was going on?"

"Little living statues!" Jay crossed his arms. "Little pests they were."

I nodded. "Where's Lloyd?"

"He's...out on a walk around the area." Kai scratched the back of his head.

I tilted my head in confusion but shrugged it off. "All right- well I'm going to go look around the place."

"Let us know if you bump into him, ok Brittany?" Cole called out. "He's not in the best of moods."

' _Probably got hurt during the fight.'_ I thought and was promptly proved wrong. My walk around the museum was quiet and the place looked nice. There was a lot of artifacts that were hundreds of years old but at my age I didn't really pay attention to the information and just looked at the old things and the pictures.

When I found Lloyd, he was looking over a railing to a hole. I walked up next to him and smiled warily. "Hi Lloyd...are you ok?"

He relaxed a bit and looked at me. "I'm fine Brittany." He said, ruffling my hair. "I'm just thinking about some stuff right now."

"Like what?"

"I'll be careful if I were you- that sink hole doesn't have a bottom." A new voice spoke out. I turned around and saw a woman with dark grey hair and an architectural outfit on. I had just missed the darkening of Lloyd's face. "It's where I found the ancient stone warrior."

"You've been gone my whole life!" Lloyd cried out, glaring at her. "There's nothing you can say **mom**."

I gasped and looked between the two of them. This was Lloyd's mom?

"Well I'm going to talk any way." She sighed and walked around the sinkhole. "Do you want to know what I've been doing all this time Lloyd? Long before Sensei Wu ever knew who would be the green ninja I knew it would be you and I knew that you would eventually have to fight your father. I dropped you off at the boarding school so I could learn everything I could about the prophecy. With the hope that I could one day prevent the battle between good and evil. All this time son, I've been trying to save you and your father."

"You could have said something though!" I yelled. Tears pooled in my eyes against my wishes as both of them turned to look at me. "You're his mom! You could have wrote letters or something instead of disappearing and leaving Lloyd to wonder if you ever loved him or not!"

"Brittany-"

"It's not fair!" I cut Lloyd off. "It doesn't matter whether or not you were trying to help him in the end! If U ever found out my parents did the same- I would be mad at them too! I don't even know if they're still alive!"

Lloyd put a hand on my shoulder and brought me in for a hug. "Shhh… don't cry Brittany. We'll find them ok? We all made that promise to you."

"I'm sorry." Lloyd's mom said. "It wasn't the easiest decision to make and it's one of the biggest regrets I have...to miss out on your childhood Lloyd. But I thought that if I could help save you and your father then in then end it would be alright."

I sniffed. "That still doesn't make it ok."

The others walked into the room as Lloyd's mom about light and darkness- the balance and the fight between both sides. She talked about the first spinjitzu master and his fight against the indestructible stone army. Sensei then stepped in to talk about how Lloyd's power was directly tied not only into the golden weapons but the first spinjitzu master himself. "Leaving you behind was the hardest thing I had to do." Lloyd's mom said. "But faced with saving you and the world, I had no choice."

"I see." Lloyd sighed.

I pouted but stayed quiet. I understood her reasoning but my selfish thoughts led me to dislike her a little longer than I probably would have if it happened to me present time. Sensei walked up next to me and said. "Misako- I would like you to meet Brittany. The youngest member of our team."

"Hello there." She smiled at me. "I'm Misako...I get that you might not want to talk to me at the moment but let me just say- you have very pretty hair."

Heat creeped up my face and caused me to look down at the ground. ' _I still have to polite, don't I?'_ "Thank you."

"How old are you?"

"I'm nine years old." I uncrossed my arms. "I'm turning ten soon."

"You are?" Zane asked- I nodded in response. "That's what my calendar says anyway."

"What day?"

"The ninetieth!" I smiled. "In January!"

"January?" Cole tilted his head. "What calendar are you using?"

"The same one we use in Minecraftia. When I was found- they had to do some math to find out my birthday."

"Found?" Misako asked me. "Minecraftia."

"I ran away from to find my real parents." I looked away from her. "This is the only thing that I have from them and I don't know what it is other than some tag."

I took out my tag and showed her. Despite her many years in her field of discovery, Misako had no idea what to make of my tag. I shrugged and put it away- it was a long shot anyway. Lloyd shook his head and asked. "Have you found any way to prevent me from facing my father?"

"I'm sorry...not yet." She sighed. "But I have reason to believe there's still hope."

There was a sudden crash behind us of the door being completely destroyed. A giant figure with red armor stood there with giant sword. I nearly screamed. "What is it?"

"The stone warrior." Misako pointed out.

Zane gulped. "The Devourer's venom must have awakened him."

"Great!" Cole groaned. "Kai- take care of him!"

"Me?"

Feeling without any other option- Kai ran to the warrior and went to hit him with his sword. The sword was completely shattered upon impact and Kai was grabbed by his foot and thrown behind the warrior and into some cases.

"Lloyd!" Sensei turned to his nephew. "Use your powers!"

When the warrior was hit with Lloyd's power, there was a slight explosion but it wasn't destroyed. Jay groaned. "How are we supposed to destroy this thing?"

"You can't." Misako stayed back, holding Lloyd's shoulders.

The warrior then broke through the door and the barricade that was set up and fought the ninja- knocking everyone of them back. Soon we were all thrown out of the room and we all crashed into the wall. When we all got up- seemingly unharmed. Jay laughed. "Well it's a good thing we're in a museum!"

"Why?"

Que the warrior crashing through the doorway.

"Because we're about to be history! Run!"

So we ran- the warrior quickly picking up speed. We were soon cornered in a room as the warrior slowly broke down. Kai gulped. "It's not going to hold him for long- let's settle this like men."

"Rock, paper, clam?"

"The loser has to stay behind and stall him while the rest escape!" They all put their hands in the circle- I already knew I couldn't join but Lloyd didn't get the memo. Jay had to stop him. "Nu-uh! Not you chosen one!"

Right as they were about to start the match- Lloyd stopped them. "I have an idea! I think I know who to stop him but you guys need to stall him!"

"I say we give the kid a shot." Cole jumped in.

Jay shook his head. "You're just saying that because you don't want you face him!"

"Do you want to face him?"

We all looked to the warrior as Jay said. "I say we give the kid a shot."

Honestly- I would have laughed if I wasn't scared at the time.

Lloyd then ran to the other end of the room and escaped through the vent. Misako called out to him- telling him good luck and to be safe. It was then that I saw the forgiveness in Lloyd's eyes as he left us. I sighed. "Lloyd found his parents after all but at what cost?"

Misako sighed as well- not hearing me. "I can't believe that's Lord Garmadon's son."

"Don't forget." Sensei smiled. "He's your son too."

"He's had a good teacher."

"You mean- teachers." The ninja walked forward.

From there we thought of the way we would hide and leave him immobile. Cole was the one to strike him when he broke through the door. Cole cut the ropes that were holding a whale's skeleton in the air- we then all slid down the back of the stegosaurus and waited on baited breath to see what would happen. The warrior's fist broke out of the bone pile scaring us all and causing us to run out of the room. Misako the used one of the promotional banner to slide to the bottom floor and ushered us to do the same. That's when Cole tossed me on his back and followed the others downwards. I got off of him when we touched the ground. "Thanks Cole."

"Don't worry about it Pinkie."

The warrior then landed behind us sending us in all directions. Misako and I landed next to next other and in front of the warrior. We got up as quickly as we could and ran out of the room with the warrior right on our tail. As we were running, I saw Lloyd flag us down. "This way!"

I grabbed Misako's hand and borderline dragged her to where Lloyd was. We stood behind him and watched as the warrior stepped closer to us. "Hey loser!" Lloyd called out. "Paper beats rock!"

When he got close enough we all jumped out of the way of his blade and watched as the warrior stepped back and fell through a covering and down the sinkhole from earlier, Misako gasped. "Of course! The bottomless pit!"

I laughed as the adrenaline started to wear off. "We're alive!"

"I'm so proud of you!" Misako hugged Lloyd. "I feel like the balance has brought us together."

The others then walked in led by Sensei Wu who said. "Stay with us. Help us fight the good fight."

"If that's ok with my son." She smiled.

Lloyd smiled back. "Hey- the more the merrier!"

I blinked and looked between the older ones. "So Nya and I won't be the only girls anymore?"

Sensei chuckled. "No Brittany, you won't be the only girls anymore."

I nodded and walked with the others out of the museum. Misako then joined us for dinner on the Bounty- she got along with Nya just fine.

I sighed and thought to myself- ' _what if my parents are like Misako?'_

The thought brought a smile to my face.


	10. Guess not

The ninja once again took to training in Dareth's dojo while the rest of us stayed on the ship. I was wandering around when I saw Misako walk into a room. Not much later, I heard Sensei and Misako talk about the prophecy Misako was researching.

I shook off my curiosity and continued on my way- not wanting to interrupted the adults. Suddenly the whole ship shook, sending me falling to my knees. "What was that?"

Sensei Wu and Misako passed me on their way to the dojo. "Stay here young one- we are going to check on the ninja and the case of these quakes."

"Can I go to?" I stood up.

"No - you and Nya must guard the ship."

"But-" I looked up and gave up upon seeing their reactions. "Ok."

Then they left.

After a few hours- the earthquakes had the streets breaking and crumbling and soon the buildings were falling down. The mayor of the city called for a massive evacuation and below more stone warriors were coming up from the ground.

Nya was put in charge of the landing of the ship in an evacuation point in the city where the ninja were going to take the people of Ninjago City. But there wasn't any safe place to land. The stone warriors kept trying to attack the ship but luckily- they were too small to reach. Nya was then instructed to land on the NGTV rooftop where there was a landing pad for helicopters.

When Nya landed, I snuck off the ship and helped the citizens to get on board They were coming by the tens and I lost count after 100 people were on the rooftop. I couldn't see the ninja anywhere and I could only see Dareth, Misako and Sensei. Lloyd managed to reach the top before the other four but I was swept up by the crowd and couldn't see over the people.

Luckily the other ninja arrived and helped the people to get below deck. I ran around doing a headcount of our crew but Misako was missing. "Where is she?"

Without much time left, Sensei jumped off of the side of the ship (Misako actually ran back to gather her research she lost while running...I learned this afterwards). Nya had to take off, leaving Sensei and Misako behind due to the warriors attacking the ship. I gasped and ran to the railing. "Sensei!"

"Nya turn to the side of the building!" Lloyd yelled.

Zane ran up to Nya on the bride and frowned. "Nya descend." When she didn't do it he (not so) politely asked her and frowned from under his hood. "DO IT NOW!"

With that maneuver, we actually caught Sensei Wu and Misako as they jumped out the window. Finally our heart could start beating again. I grinned and ran to Sensei. "Thank goodness you're alright!" Still smiling, I turned around and gave Misako a hug as well. "You too… you're a part of our team now and our family, we can't have you leaving us so soon."

She smiled and patted my head. "Thank you Brittany."

Nya then led the ship away from Ninjago City as the stone warriors ransacked the city below. I looked down to see the chaos as it passed us by. "I hope no one is still down there."

"I doubt it Brittany." Kai stood next to me. "But stay away from the edge- we don't need you falling over and you don't need to be looking at this. Come help us with the people...we need to register them."

"Ok Kai."

We dropped the people off at different villages depending on if they had family there or not or if the village was capable of receiving the refugees. It took a few days and we had to restock the ships supplies but we managed. That's al the ship could take though and soon the damage that it took made us dock at the last village.

Nya and the ninja (except Zane- he went with Sensei to check out a new island) tried to fix the ship but to no avail. I sat in the bridge with Misako and looked at her scrolls by her side to try and figure out where the missing pieces were. Soon Misako found something I couldn't see (it didn't help that I couldn't quite read their language) and called the group to the bridge. "The prophecy reveals that the only way to defeat the stone army if with the green ninja."

"I tried!" Lloyd groaned. "I gave it everything I had."

"Yes- but you are stronger than you think." misako smiled at him. She said. "Look. The power of the green ninja can only be unlocked when his four protectors find their pure elemental powers."

Cole looked over Misako's shoulder. "Are we the protectors?"

"Of course Cole." Jay laughed. "What a silly question! Right?"

"If we are the protectors-" Zane cut in. "-then we're doomed. Our elemental golden weapons no longer exist. We can not tap into our elemental powers without them."

"But the powers do exist inside each one of you."Misako said. "And there is a way to unlock your powers on your own. We must go to the temple of light."

"Temple of Light?" Nya tilted her head. "What's that?"

"The gold in the golden weapons was found in the golden peaks but they were forged in the Temple of Light. A powerful place that I thought only existed in legend."

"It's on the Dark Island?" I sat on my knees to look at the scroll better.

"I believe so. I think our only option is to find out."

"So we get our powers back?" Cole grinned. "Alright!"

"But there's still one problem." Nya sighed. "The ship can't fly."

"It's s ship isn't it?" It can sail."

So, the next day we moved the ship into the water and watched as the citizens said their goodbyes. Jay was talking to his parents- Cole was saying his goodbyes to his dad (who sang him a song about his departure) -Kai and Nya were talking to Dareth (he was then put in charge of the dragon...and the people) and Lloyd was saying goodbye to his dragon.

Zane and I watched over the railing, seeing everything go down. Sensei walked up to the two of us and said. "If there anyone you would like to say goodbye to?"

Zane sighed. "My only family is my falcon and my only memory of my father was nearly erased. I will miss Ninjago for it's all I know and I am excited to see what the future has in store."

"Well…" Sensei smiled "...my nindroid friend- there are some people who would like to say goodbye to you."

We looked further overboard and saw a group of Zane's fangirls- cheering for him and yelling about how they'll miss him and how cute he was. I giggled and looked away. Sensei then walked over to me. "What about you young one?"

"Nah- I don't have anyone to say goodbye to." I rolled on the balls of my feet. "Unlike Zane I don't have any memory of my birth parents and I'm starting to doubt that they're even here at all. I only really have you guys and I'm going with you... so I'm just watching and waiting until we leave."

"I see.."

Soon we all piled into the ship and sailed out into the sea with the destination of the Dark Island. It was quiet as we tended to what needed to be done. By sun down we all were at the front of the ship, admiring the sunset. I sat on the railing away from the others, lost in my own little world. They were talking but their words never registered. It wasn't until Zane pulled me off of the railing that I realised that I spaced out. "Be careful Brittany- don't sit on the railing. You could fall over and fall into the ocean or you could hurt yourself."

"Alright Zane- I won't." I smiled weakly. "No news?"

"No...my falcon-" He cut himself off and went rigid, his eyes glowing blue. "...has found the Dark Island!"

We then ran to the bridge and Zane connected himself to the main screen. "There...now we all can see."

It was the classical bird's eyes view with what could have been heat vision. Zane positioned his head to look down and standing there was a stone warrior. It was launched one of its weapons and knocked the bird down. As a reflex Zane launched himself backwards and the view ended. I gasped and cried out. "NO!"

Kai and Nya went to help Zane off of the ground. Zane looked shocked and you could physically see the information being processed. "He's ...he's gone."

"We don't know that." Sensei stood up.

Nya frowned. "Oh Zane...I'm so sorry."

"He was our friend too." Kai nodded. "So we're not going to let him go in vain. If the stone army wants a fight- they got one."

"That's going to have to wait." Misako sounded stern and serious. "Because we're sailing straight for that strom- all hands on deck!"

Sure enough she was right- we were sailing right into of the blackest storms I've ever seen. Within moments we were surrounded by rain and thunder and lighting...all that jazz. The ninja went to hold the sails steady on the deck while Nya tried to her best to steer us through the storm. I was told to go under the deck for my own safety.

Soon- there was an eerie laugh and a starfish crashed into the window I was looking out of. They had a suction like mouth that was filled with nothing but razor sharp teeth. I didn't know what to do and soon these starfish like creatures were eating away at the ship- letting water into our boat.

Try as I might though the starfish didn't leave and the room was flooded. By daybreak- we got a break and the starfish were gone. The guys came to inspect the damage and got out buckets to clean out the water as well they could. I offered to patch up the hole as least (being a minecraftian it would have beena piece of cake) but I was ushered out of the room. I snuck back in though just as Zane looked out of the hole. Sensei tilted his head. "What is it Zane?"

Caole asked. "Is it the falcon?"

"Is he ok?"

"No it's a...it's something else!" He gasped. "Brace yourselves!"

I blinked and was quickly thrown into Jay as the ship crashed into an island of sorts. "Sorry Jay!"

"It's fine!"

"What was that?" Kai asked himself.

I shrugged and jumped out of the hole before anyone could stop me. "Let's go check it out!"

"Brittany!"

I landed on some sand and walked toward what looked like a tower. "What is it?"

Cole groaned. "Brittany...you have to stop doing that."

"Who would put a lighthouse way out here?" Lloyd tilted his head.

Zane bit his lip. "It's not a lighthouse...it's a prison."

I looked up at the amount of steps we would have to climb to check it out. "It's really tall."

"Wana piggy back ride Brittany?" Cole offered.

I smiled and nodded and was promptly put once again on Cole's shoulders. Kai rolled his eyes. "We get that you're the strongest Cole but why do you always offer to carry her?"

"It's merely part of my questy to be Pinky's favorite ninja." Cole grinned. "Am I your favorite?"

I giggled. "Oh...I don't know…"

"Oh please Cole- I'm her favorite ninja." Kai grinned.

Lloyd turned around and laughed. "Come on guys, I think we can all agree that I'm her favorite ninja."

"On the contrary-" Zane smiled. "I believe it it me."

Jay groaned. "Brittany, who's your favorite ninja? It's gotta be me, right?"

I laughed. ' _I could keep this going.'_ "Maybe...maybe not."

"I'm her favorite!"

"No I am!"

Soon enough we were at the front door to the prison where a camera came to inspect us. Jay tilted his head. "Uh- should we smile?"

Suddenly the door opened and revealed an old man with slicked back white hair. "ZANE!"

We were all taken back at his proclamation while Zane looked frozen. The old man grinned and gave Zane a hug. "You found me!"

Lloyd tilted his head. "Do you know him?"

"Of course I know him!" The old man's smiled never left. "I built him for heaven's sake."

You could see the collective gasp from our group.

Zane "blinked away" the shock. "But my memory tells me that you have passed!"

"Ah...you found your memory switch." He said.

There was a big roar and suddenly we were all being ushered inside because 'it' was coming to check on the old man. The old man then locked his door, barricaded it then checked the camera. We were then led up even more stairs and to this guys living space. It looked nice and a little cramped but he was the only one living here. He grinned. "Please, you must be thirsty, have a seat."

"Seat?" Zane scratched his head. "Where?"

The old man pushed a button and out popped a table from the floor with cushioned seats. I stared at it in awe. "Cool..."

Cole then lifted me off of his shoulders and put me on the ground. We all sat down at the table and watched as the old man pushed another button that triggered a tiny little robot to come out and give us cups. I grinned. "It's so cute!"

Soon we all had our cups and the robot retrieved a teapot from Zane's dad. It jumped back onto the table and poured each of us a cup of tea/ Jat tried to be a smart butt and move the cup so the robot couldn't do its job...so the robot poured the tea on Jay all laughed at him and waited for the poor boy to calm down. Zane talked to his dad as we drank our tea. "What you didn't see Zane was bone head Samukai reviving me with a special elixir. He wanted me to create state-of-the-art war machines for their army. I declined and was trapped here. He said that if I did- I would be able to see my son again and tot make sure that I didn't escape- he chained a leviathan to keep guard."

Lloyd tilted his head. "A leviathan? That's what we heard in the ocean?"

"Yes- when Samukai never returned? I thought I would never see you again." Zane's dad sighed. "But since so much time has passed, I started to question if you would even want to see me again. I was afraid...if you found out what horrible things I've created...you would think I was a … a monster."

"We will get you out of here father." Zane put a hand on his dad's shoulder. "Now that we're together- perhaps we can event a way off of this rock."

Jat gasped. "Could you repair the rocket clasters on our ship?"

I tuned out the rest of the conversation and took out my tag. "Everyone that was like me found their parents...where are you guys?"

The whole place suddenly shook and Zane's dad gasped. "It's here! Everyone hide!"

We all ran in different directions- hopped up with Jay and hid on a top shelf that was just above the window. No one dared to even breath. From my angle, I saw a blue tentacle like thing with two eyes on the tip of it look through the window. The old man then looked at our tea cups and turned them upside down- tapping on them with chopsticks so it would actually seem like he was alone. When the coast was clear- we all went to the window to watch it disappear. Kai huffed. "If we're going to get away, we're going to have to hurry...before 'it' comes back."

So we all got to work! Each of us doing out parts- Cole, Lloyd and I was assigned to sew together a large fabric balloon shape thing that we were going to use. Lloyd berated Cole for his whistling but I found it quite nice...sadly- the tune was gone and Cole didn't whistle again. It really was a shame- he was a good whistler and I liked that song.

By the time it was dark out, the leviathan returned and tried to grab the ship while we were in the air. Before we could escape though, the monster grabbed our ship, bettering its grip and started to pull us downwards.

Lloyd then used his elemental powers to shock the creature off of us which worked for only about a second before it grabbed us again. Zane then climbed up onto the railing, yelling. "It's chained!"

"Zane! What are you doing?" His father yelled at him.

I blinked. "You better not leave again! You promised!"

"I'm not Brittany! The leviathan won't let us leave- I think I know a way I can help!"

"But these waters are filled with start teeth!" Zane's dad cried out to him.

"I know."

Then he fell backwards into the water- leaving us all to hold on tight to both the ship and the hope that not only Zane would be alright but that he'll fix it. The monster kept pulling the Bounty closer and closer into the water until the bottom of the ship was touching the surface. When we were let go- the water was nearly spilled on the deck. Kai gasped. "He let us go!"

"What happened?" Zane's dad said.

Lloyd went up to help the guy up and said. "Zane released the leviathan and now it's letting us go."

"But where's my son?!"

"I'm here father!" Zane climbed over the railing and onto the ship. His father ran over to him and gave him a hug. "Zane.."

Sensei looked at the scene. "How did you know that if you freed it from captivity- it would let us go?"

Zane smiled. "Because no one deserves to be held captive...not even a monster..."

I smiled and ran to hug Zane- looking to see the monster swimming away. Zane waved at it. "Fare well creature of the sea...enjoy your freedom."

I let go of Zane as he turned to me. "See Brittany, I came back. I'm not breaking my promise, ok?"

"Never ever?"

"Never ever." He nodded.

I grinned and yawned. "Good."

"Go to bed Brittany." Kai chuckled. "It's been a long night for all of us."

"But I don't want to go to bed...not after everything that just happened." I frowned- rubbing my eyes.

Cole smiled at me. "Your body says otherwise Pinky- go get some rest, we'll still be here in the morning."

I yawned again. "Fine...goodnight guys!"

"Goodnight Brittany!" Came the chorused response

I then stepped into the room us girls shared and fell into my bed with a plop. I was out like a light the second my head hit the pillow.


	11. Good VS Evil

When we arrived at the Dark Island, we took immediate measures to hide the Bounty- covering it in both sand and leaves alike. Kai then went out to scout the area and came back with new of the warriors. The island was teeming with the stone warriors- they were constantly on the prowl for new activity.

When the Bounty was safely covered from all angles- Sensei called the ninja in to review the scrolls. Misako then rolled out the one covering the Temple of Light. "The scrolls say that there is a hidden temple on the island, if you find it- it will give the ninja pure elemental powers. Powers that can destroy the indestructible army."

"So you're saying that we get to fight?" Cole beamed. "Woo hoo! I've got happy feet!"

We all rolled our eyes at him as Misako continued (not minding Cole at all). "And for you my son- it says that once the green ninja finds the Instrument of Peace- he will strike it! And know the power of the **ultimate** spinjitzu master."

"Ultimate spinjitzu master."

"It means you'll be able to invoke the power of the golden dragon. An ancient fighting style only practiced by the first spinjitzu master." she smiled at her son.

The ninja stood agape with their mouths open, i was simply unaware of the ninja's emotions. Lloyd smirked. "Ha! Jealous?"

Kai was the first to break out of the funk. "Wait a minute- this sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?"

I blinked. "Catch?"

"The catch is that no one knows where the island is." Sensei stood behind Misako. "The only way to find it is this."

"The medallion!" Zane's dad took the shiny, golden coin thing from Sensei. "It's like a compass! When the three holes match up- the medallion will reveal where the temple is hidden."

Jay furrowed his eyebrows." Uh- how do you know that?"

"Oh! I did a lot of reading in my spare time. Adventure stories were my favorite!"

Zane then took the medallion away from his father and grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Every ninja stopped to get up and follow each other out the ship but lloyd was stopped by Sensei Wu. "Not you Lloyd."

"Seriously?! Are we still doing this?"

"Wu is right Lloyd." Misako stepped in. "If you were to come across your father, it could prematurely start the final battle. We need to be at full strength before we can take any risks."

Jay laughed. "Ha! Jealous?"

I sighed. "Welcome back to the club Lloyd."

"Not funny Brittany." Lloyd scowled at me. I blinked and frowned at him. "I wasn't trying to be funny Lloyd."

"Well…" Zane's dad stepped in. "I could use some help around the shop. We should be working on vehicles that might give us a fighting chance."

I sat up straighter. "Can I help?"

"Yes, of course you can!"

"Yes!" I fist pumped.

Sensei turned to the ninja and said. "Remember- Garmadon doesn't know we're on the island. It is imperative that you say out of sight."

"Of course Sensei, don't worry! Have you ever known us to vere from a plan?" Jay scoffed.

Silence.

"NINJA-"

"Shhhh!" Sensei cut them off. "Not so loud! Are you trying to get us caught?"

"...go!"

And off they went on another adventure without the company of anyone else. It honestly got quite annoying being the youngest. If only I was older then I could join in their fun.

The four of us that were left then gathered as much scrap metal as we could as Nya and Zane's dad got to work on a new ninja tank. We worked the entire day. Sensei even fell into a bit of trouble with the stone warriors which Lloyd and Misako had to save him from. Luckily- they stopped the attack and stalled them with enough time to make it back to camp without being followed. My job was to give the mechanics any tools or parts that they needed- since they considered me too young to do any actual building.

By the time the sun was setting- the ninja came running back to the base with the falson (broken but safe) in Zane's arms. Zane's dad gasped- grinning. "They found the falcon!"

"Why are you running?" Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows.

Sensei gasped. "You weren't spotted, were you?"

"Uh…"

"By how many?" Misako bit her lip.

Kai grimaced. "Try...all of them."

"Looks like you're going to have to learn how this baby works on the fly." Zane's dad shrugged and hopped off, closing the hood.

Nya then pecked Jay on the lips. "We also packed a little surprise on the back."

"OOH! A Nya surprise!" Jay fanboyed. "My favorite kind of surprise!"

Cole groaned. "Come on lovebird! We don't have much time!"

"I'm afraid you'll have to go too Lloyd." Misako gave him a kiss on his forehead and "pushed" him towards the tank. "Be safe my son."

"Do you know where the Temple of Light is?" Sensei yelled.

"It's at the top of the mountain! If we leave now we might make it before them!" Kai yelled back.

"Alright- go ninja!"

"Right- and this time we won't stray from the plan." Jay nodded.

I waved to them as they drove away- we heard the warriors vehicles come closer but drive off into another direction. I bit my lip and looked towards the adults with me. "Are they going to be ok?"

"The only thing we can do now is trust them and hope for the best." Misako sighed.

"I never asked but-" I twiddled with the hem of my t-shirt. "-why didn't I age up with Lloyd when we fought the grundle?"

"The grundle managed to knock you out of the radius of the blast." Nya put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't feel bad that you can't join Brittany, it's better for you to be a kid for as long as you can."

"I just don't like feeling like I can't do anything." I sighed.

"Well- we can watch the Light Temple." Zane's dad spoke up. "Come on, there's a camera on top of the ship, we can zoom in to the top of the mountain like the said they would be. Do you want to see?"

I nodded and followed the old man back into the Bounty. I could hear the other three talking in hushed voices but it wasn't enough for me to distinguish what they were saying. Zane's dad then turned on the computer, working his way around the system and finding the path to the camera. He leveled it up so that it would be at the needed height to view the top and zoomed in.

Nya, wu and Misako walked into the room a little while later and looked at the camera with us. The sun had set and there was no activity in the temple that we could see. Nya looked anxious and bit her lip. "What if they didn't make it? What if they-"

"No." I stood up. "They will. I trust that they would make it no matter how long it might take. They probably had to fight off the stone warriors or had to go by foot or something!"

"Sorry Brittany...it's just...usually when they take this long, something has happened to them."

"Don't say that!"

"Enough!" Sensei pounded his staff on the floor. "We are all anxious, yess...but we mustn't lose hope. We must have faith in the ninja and in each other if we want to be stronger."

"It's not that I don't trust the ninja…" Nya ran a hand through her hair. "... I don't trust Garmadon or his methods."

Zane's dad then gasped, catching all of our attention. "Look!"

On the screen a golden light enveloped the temple and changed itself into the form of a dragon- the four ninja's elements sprouted like an eruption behind it on all sides. I grinned. "They did it! I knew they could!"

"They're ok!" Nya grinned, laughed and pulled us all into a hug.

"We are one step closer to the final battle." Misako mused. Sensei nodded in agreement.

"Do you think it's still preventable?" I blinked and looked at them.

"Perhaps."

The ninja returned before the night wore thin and were welcomed as warmly as we could provide. They came back with new gi and new weapons- once they were situated back though, I was pushed away and sent to bed.

The next morning when the group had gathered enough energy to start the day, I followed the ninja to the beach where they practiced shooting coconuts with their powers. I got a kick out of their quips (as Jay said) which were really puns regarding their elements.

"We got this final battle in the bag!" Jay grinned. "Or should I say I'll be **shocked** if we lose!"

Cue the exploding coconut.

"Enough!" Sensei sighed. "Are you trying to reveal our hidden location?"

"Sorry Sensei! We were just practicing our new elemental blades. "Kai scratched his head.

"And our witty quips." Jay smirked.

Sensei rolled his eyes. "Be wary of overconfidence ninja. While it is true that your powers can defeat the stone army- only Lloyd alone has the power to defeat Garmadon. When it is all over, then we will see who laughs last."

"Yes Sensei."

I giggled. "I guess you can say that his appearance shocked you guys."

"That's already been used Brittany." Jay smiled, crossing his arms.

"Sorry- I mustn't have been listening- you know, with my head in the clouds." I grinned. "I'm not a really **grounded** person."

I could hear Cole snicker from where I was. "That was bad Brittany."

"I'll like to see you do better."

"Ok, how about this?" Cole looked up and spotted something in the sky. "Take that dirtbag!"

Zane gasped and intercepted Cole's shot with one of his own. "That is not a coconut."

The falcon flew down and landed on Zane's arm. Cole grinned. "Nice reflexes."

"The falcon is back!" I cried out and ran to see it.

Zane let the bird fly off again. "Good to have you back old friend."

I had a wide smile on my face as I watched it fly. The guys took to burying away the debris they might have caused and walked back to the base. I stayed behind a little longer and tried to move a bit of the ocean while there were no witnesses. When I heard that the group was coming up with a plan, I ran back to where they were and watched as the ninja talked with Misako. The plan was to take Garmadon's helmet of shadows and put it back on the clock. Lloyd was once again stopped from joining. "But I'm all powered up, I can help!

"We mustn't let you and your father come face to face." Sensei sighed. "We're trying to prevent the final battle- not welcome it."

"Yes Sensei." Lloyd looked at the ground. I patted his arm in silent support and watched as the ninja left our base with Misako all tied up. I was incredibly nervous about this plan but I didn't have much to say because it was the only somewhat plausible plan our group has had in awhile.

Nya, Sensei and Zane's dad stayed in the Bounty to keep watch over our base in case of intruders. Lloyd...I had no idea where he was or what he was doing but I was once again at the beach, hiding within the palm trees and playing with the sand. I remember trying to earthbend it but I couldn't get a good feel for it. "Brittany!"

"What?" I dropped the sand and ran to the base. "What is it?"

"There's trouble at Garmadon's HQ- we think that the ninja may have been spotted." Zane's dad filled me in.

"You need to be close." Sensei said. "Who knows if we may need to fight."

"I'm going to get them." Nya jumped in the tank and drilled underground. Within minutes we were in contact with Nya and the retrieved ninja and Misako.

"Did we get the helmet?" Sensei said.

Nya nodded on our screen. "We did and everyone is accounted for."

"Then let's rondevu at the clock. "Sensei turned to me and said. "Let's go Brittany."

I nodded and we made our way through the island immediately after. We couldn't spot Lloyd anywhere and we could only hope that he was both safe and nowhere near Garmadon. Sensei and I made it to the clock before the nina (Zane's dad stayed at the base). We were watching the clock strike every second but the ninja were nowhere to be seen. They only showed up when the sun was almost complete set- drilling through the mountain to get to the top. Nya gasped. "Wow! This clock is a mechanical masterpiece!"

Everyone in the tank stepped out (including Lloyd- I never found out why he was with them) and Misako ran to the clock, the helmet in her hands. She then turned to Nya and said. "You are welcome to dismantle it when we stop it."

"There's only a couple minutes left." Jay yelled.

Misako gasped. "Everyone! Look for the helmets perch! It could be anywhere!"

"You don't know how to return the helmet?" I bunched up my hair in my fists.

"It has a resting place somewhere." Was my reply.

The team then tried different area of the clock, passing the hat to eat person but to no avail. When Jay was about to pass the helmet to Sensei-a stone warrior pushed him out of the way and caught it. Kai yelled out in despair. "NOO!"

The creature laughed. "There's only thirty seconds left. I believe it's time to- NOO!""

The clock itself knocked the helmet out of its hands and it ricocheted around the place- causing the army and the ninjas to chase after it. The helmet landed on the highest point of the clock, the soldier with a head start on Cole. We all watched as Cole dropped the helmet from where it was and how Jay and Zane attempted to keep the hat away from the warriors. The helmet then landed in the middle of the clock- right behind its destined perch.

"There's only ten seconds left!" Sensei yelled.

Misako ran forward. "I'll get it!"

But a warrior got in her way.

I bit my lip and ran as fast as I could around the potential scene and parkoured my way to the helmet. Grabbing it as the others fought the warriors, I turned around and put the helmet on the perch. The perch and the helmet lowered and the clock slowed to a stop. The team celebrated what they thought was a victory but the clock restarted itself even with the helmet back on. A loud blaring sound came from beyond the clock and the ground started to shake. I screamed and jumped out of the clock to the best of my abilities. Misako cried out. "The horns of destruction! We were too late!"

I blinked and landed on my foot wrong. "OW!"

"Brittany!" Lloyd came over and helped me out. "Are you ok?"

"I think so." I tried standing but my foot couldn't take my weight, causing me to nearly fall down again. "I guess not."

"Brittany…"

"I should have been faster." I sighed. "I have speed potions on me, I could have done better."

"Don't say that! You did what you could in the situation and you're hurt, we can't change what's happened but we're not forgetting this, ok?" Lloyd put me onto his back and put me in one of the seats of the tank. The clock then shot a laser of sorts against itself which was then reflected off of itself and beamed to the other side of the island.

The stone warriors then took a fighting stance against the ninja but the ground underneath my friends crumbled and they fell- Nya was the only one of the group who managed to escape the disaster. The warriors took advantage of this and captured her, taunting the ninja as they took her away. From my spot I could hear the ninja's cries as they fell down the cliff and into the water below. I gulped down another invisibility potion and slowly made my way out of the tank trying to not make any sound or make my foot worse than it was. I watched as they dragged Nya away much to my dismay- I couldn't follow them in my state but only watch and wait for my ankle to heal. The warriors checked the tank but when I wasn't found within it, they toppled it over and sent it falling off of the cliff as well, for measure I assumed.

Nya cried and struggled with all her might but couldn't break free. I found myself wiping away my tears as I muttered. "I'll come for you Nya, I promise. I just need to get...no, I'll have to go by myself."

So I did.

But I knew I would have to act fast. I was lucky to remember the heal potions that came in my inventory and took one out as fast as I could. I took a sip and traded it for a speed potion to make up for lost time. Then I ran after them once I was fully healed- I followed them back to their base and waited for the right moment to free Nya. She and the helmet were brought before Garmadon and what appeared to be a giant cannon machine. "You'll never get away with tis!" Nya kept struggling. "My friends will put a stop to you!"

Garmadon laughed. "Red doesn't seem to be your color...I say we try on a darker shade."

"No." I gasped. The effects of the potions wouldn't last forever and I was watching a small window of opportunity shrink even more so.

Garmadon turned to one of the warriors. "Bring me the dark matter, I believe we found our first test subject."

One of the soldiers did as told and placed it in front of Nya's face. They had stuffed Nya's mouth with an apple to keep her silent and pushed her towards the dark matter. I gasped again and continued watching as the apple blacked and Nya transformed into a darker...eviler version of herself. I bit my lip and started to back away .' _Why did I think I could do this on my own? I have to warn the others!...I have to find them!'_ I gulped "I'm so sorry Nya - we'll fix this...somehow…"

Then I ran- feeling useless and out of my comfort zone. I couldn't even help my friend when I was right next to her- how was I ever going to help the others when I had no idea where they even were?

With not much to do I let the tears fall- as I tried my best to retrace my steps and find our base. If I could get there then Zane's dad might be able to help me...maybe the ninja would have gone there too?

I ran and ran and broke through the shrubs and onto the beach where I saw the group "talking" to each other with Jay nearly strangling Cole. I crashed into Cole from behind and let out a sob, turning all their attention onto me. "Brittany! You're here! How? What happened? Are you ok?"

"They changed Nya! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I couldn't...didn't do anything to stop them!"

"What do you mean...changed her?" Kai gulped.

"She's evil now!" I cried some more. "She ate this dark matter stuff and now she's evil!"

"Oh no…" Jay groaned. "Can she fight it?"

"I don't...I don't know! I couldn't help her...I didn't do anything!" I cried. "I was right there! They acted too fast for me to think of a plan!"

"Ok- Brittany breath...in, out, again…that's it..." Cole started rubbing circles on my back. "You're ok and we're going to fix Nya. She's going to be ok in the end too."

"How do you know that?" I rubbed my eyes, breathing how Cole was showing me.

"We'll get her back." Sensei looked at all of us. "But right now there are bigger things at stake, including all of Ninjago."

"Screw Ninjago!" Jay growled.

"Language Jay!" Misako scolded.

"I get it Jay-" Kai took off his hood. "-she was my sister, we all have the right ot be mad. We'll see her again."

I ignored what Sensei was saying to Lloyd as I tried to calm myself down with the help of Cole and Zane. One by one the ninja the took a stance to help Lloyd gain confidence in himself. From then on our group took precautions to be at our best and to sharpen their abilities. When Lloyd said the word, we all ran through the forest and made it to Garmadon's base. As our group broke down the front gate only to see that their base was empty.

"Uh-" Jay took off his hood. "-where the heck is everybody?"

Kai groaned. "The ultimate weapon is gone! We're too late!"

"My flacon friends wants to show us something." Zane looked up and started to follow the flying bird. All it showed us were some tracks, not only proving what size this weapon was but where it was going. "It appears to be going towards the coast."

"Is it going towards Ninjago?" I asked.

Sensei sighed. "He always wanted to turn the world into his image. Now we know who it will be done to."

"But if he starts turning things evil-" Misako gasped. "-the balance will shift and allow the overlord the power to cross over to our world!"

"Then we have to make sure that my father never fired that weapon!"

Our group started to leave but we paused so Zane's dad could stay behind and Zane could say goodbye. Zane ran back to us with the falcon on his arm and with one final wave to his father we all took off again through the forest with the tracks as our guide. The guys then started talking about memories that they've created over our time together when they realized that this...could easily have been their last fight together. On the way to the coast we were laughing about the past until something ran in front of the group.

Zane "frowned". "I sense an evil presence."

"Where? Where?"

"Above us!"

Out of nowhere, a figure sped past our group and punched Cole in his face. "Ah! My jaw! That hurt!"

The spinning figure stopped spinning to face us. Jay gasped. "Nya!"

"That is no longer Nya!" Sensei stopped both Jay and Kai from going forward. Kai growled. "What did he do to my sister?!"

"I told you!" I yelled. "He turned her evil!"

"Garmadon must have sent her to slow us down." Sensei took a quick glance behind him to look at us. "We have to stop him from firing that weapon!"

The ninja attempted to come up with a plan but Nya hitKai in the face with her own weapon. I frowned and spinjitzu-ed in front of them. "I'll stall her! Get to the weapon!"

"What? Brittany don't be stupid."

I bit my lip and glared at the dark Nya. "I allowed them to do this to her and I won't be needed in the final battle! Let me do this!"

"Brittany-"

"We don't have time!" Misako stepped forward.

"I got this guys!" I dodged Nya's weapon, catching it as it passed my face. Now in a tug-o'-war with Nya, I yelled over my shoulder. "You're going to have to trust me!"

"We'll help you!" Zane stepped us.

"Don't bother! Go stop Garmadon!"

"We won't forget this Brittany." Kai said.

"Are we actually letting this happen?" Coel gaped. "Can she even handle it?"

"We're just going to have to trust her." Lloyd nodded in my direction. I smiled in response and struggled with Nya some more.

"Don't hurt her Brittany!" Jay called to me as they sped past me.

"No...promises…" I gulped and pulled Nya towards we before she could get to the ninja while they were running. I then used as much force as I could to throw Nya behind me (which was easier than I anticipated) and took out my sword to cut Nya's weapon into uselessness. In retaliation she charged at me and pushed me against a tree, choking me in the process. Without much thought, I took out my enchanted sword and poked her with it. She went flying away from me with fire slowly coming off of her clothes. "I'm sorry Nya."

I coughed out a few choked lines and stood up- still winded from my lack of oxygen. I gulped and readied myself for another attack from my "friend". She charged again at me and I spinjitzu-ed her into a tree. A large boom sounded in the distance, taking me off guard. Nya took that opportunity to attack me and throw me around like a rag doll. More booms sounded in the distance in my foggy conscious. She finally let go of me-firing me into a tree. Even though I hit my head, I took out my bow and an arrow and fired at her with as close as aim as I could get in my condition. I don't know if I hit her or not because my vision went black shortly after.

When I woke up- everything was silent and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I groaned and walked (limped really) in the direction of the tracks until I reached the beach. Everyone was there but the machine and the army was nowhere to be seen. "What happened?"

"Brittany!" Kai cried out and ran to me. "You're ok! Thank goodness! We had no idea what happened to you!"

"Yeah...my head hurts but I'll live." I smiled weakly.

Kai smiled back just as weakly. "I believe you...you got some bruises on your forehead…"

"I couldn't stop Nya."

"It's ok…" Lloyd limped towards me. "...I couldn't stop my father or the Overlord."

I blinked. "You're hurt!"

"But he is alive." Sensei then walked up to the two of us. "I'm glad to see that you are alive as well."

"I have a healing potion- hold on!" I ducked and looked into my inventory, pulling out two of them. "Here, drink this! You'll feel better."

Lloyd hesitantly took it while I drank mine- all pain vanished instantly. I looked around and saw the Bounty had crashed into the ground and seemed darker. "...the Bounty…"

"Yeah, we don't have way off of the island." Jay frowned. "And the Overlord is in Ninjago City- probably destroying everything we know and love as we speak!"

"We get it Jay!" Cole groaned. "No need to remind us!"

I bit my lip and took the now empty bottle back from Lloyd. "Better?"

"It still hurts but not as much as before...it's just sore now." Lloyd shrugged. "Thanks Brittany...your bruises are gone…"

"You're welcome...and that usually happens with a healing potion...but I guess they don't work as well on non-minecraftians." I stepped away and looked at the tracks. "Did you lose the fight here then?"

"Yes Brittany! Yes we did!" Jay shouted.

"Get off of her case Jay!" Kai pushed him. "She wasn't here- be happy that she's ok as she is and Nya and Brittany aren't dramatically hurt..you've seen Brittany fight!"

I looked away and ignored Kai's comment. ' _I'm not bad for fighting...I'm only bad if I want to be.'_ Sighing, I turned to the others. "When a similar situation happened, my older brother would always say that we only lost the battle but not the war. I might be able to build us a boat to get back to Ninjago but it would take too long to build and cross the seas."

"Are you saying that there's no point?!" Jay yelled.

"JAY!"

"Not at all…" I took a step back from Jay. "...it means we keep trying. I just might not be able to provide an appropriate way back is what I'm saying. Do you think we could fix the Bounty? Or maybe Lloyd could call his dragon?"

"Maybe- anything to get out of here." Cole nodded towards me.

"Come on Sensei! Do you have any idea how to get us out of here?" Jay looked at the old man.

"I don't know."

"Don't know?" Kai gaped. "There must be some message to learn...a lesson. A word of wisdom..just a word? Something?"

Sensei sighed. "For once I'm afraid there's nothing to learn."

"Well if Sensei doesn't have a lesson- then I do." Lloyd stood up, watching his bad foot. "I used to be nothing but trouble but then I met you guys. You took me in. Showed me the importance of being brave...of being strong and most importantly being good. All of this began when the first spinjitzu master was fighting the overlord and his back was up against the wall and he knew it was over- but did he quit? No! He found a way to keep the fight going. He passed his elemental power to us- of all people- a bunch of kids! There must have been a reason he chose us. I like to think it's because he knew we would never back down. We'd never give up! We've learned the ancient ways of the ninja and ninja never quit!"

"He's right!" Kai nodded. "Even if we have to swim across the sea then so be it!"

"The whole ocean...but I didn't bring my floaties." Jay sighed.

I crossed my arms. "I could still make the boat you know."

"That's plan B, ok Pinky?" Cole ruffled my hair. "Anyone got any other ideas?"

"I don't." Zane shrugged. "But he might."

The falcon then flew ahead of us as we followed it on Kai's mech. It was leading us to the Temple of Light and stopped on a random perch. Misako took out one of her scrolls and studied it for any clues as to why we were here. "This location...I've seen this before- I just never understood it."

Without any clues to lead us, we all went inside to investigate the temple. The inside was separated into four sections for four elements- on the walls there were pictures of all of the ninja's adventures. Kai found what appeared to be a key slot and inserted his sword into it. After finding three more, the other ninja proceed to do the same thing. The center circle then moved out of the way and out came a golden mech similar to Kai's but older looking. Misako gasped. "It's the fighting suit of the first spinjitzu master when he battled the overlord."

"You mean the first spinjitzu master sat here!" Cole laughed and climbed into its seat. "Get out of here! How do you make this thing work?"

Zane's dad sighed. "Sadly...I think time has done 'er in. She's only a relic now."

"If it worked for the first spinjitzu master then maybe it would for the next spinjitzu master." Sensei modded to Lloyd.

"It's worth a shot." Lloyd shrugged and climbed up. Cole jumped off of the machine to make room for Lloyd. At first nothing really happened but then the whole thing started glowing and and not only became fully functional but as good as new.

"Well I know how he's getting to Ninjago." Misako smiled. "But what about us?"

A roar was heard outside the temple, bringing a smile to all of our faces. "Our dragon!" Jay laughed. "Good call Brittany!"

"Thank you."

"I believe we just found our way off this rock." Sensei smirked.

From there we all flew our way across the ocean as fast as we could without hurting ourselves. Kai suddenly yelled out. "I see Ninjago! It's not far from here!"

"You sure that's Ninjago?" Cole tilted his head.

Instead of the clean city we all knew and loved- everything was darker and the city gave off a purple glow. I bit my lip and sat up closer to Zane. "It's about to get really crazy, isn't it?"

"We are with you Brittany." Zane put a hand on my shoulder. "You have no reason to fear."

I didn't quite believe him when he said that.

Lloyd then nose dived into the cities atmosphere with the dragon following close behind. We stopped right in front of large black skyscraper thing. "What is that thing?"

"Garmatron."

Misako tilted her head. "It's turned into a fortress?"

"But where's the Overlord?"

No one gave an answer but instead we all flew and landed on the streets of Ninjago. Every citizen was turned evil and zombie-ing about to help the overlord with his cause. Cole sighed. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees us."

Suddenly a large blast from the tower launched downwards and landed only a few feet away from us. Zane lowered his hands and asked. "Is that the look you were hoping for?"

"Zane. No."

"The metamorphosis is complete." Misako mused. "The Overlord's changed into his original form."

"But we can't fly up there."

Sensei looked to Lloyd. "We have my father's golden mech- we have to draw the fire so that Lloyd could use the mech against the overlord."

"We hear you loud and clear."

Without any negative comments we all once again loaded onto the dragon's back and flew towards the tower, where the stone army was waiting to strike. Their chosen weapon to fire was changed from saws to flaming saws. When we dodged these- they fired flaming arrows at the dragon that we narrowly avoided. Misako looked over our heads and said. "The army is protecting their master, they'll never let Lloyd get close."

"Then we need to get close."

Down below we could see Lloyd fight the army but evil Nya sat on higher ground and blasted one of the mech's arms off. With another hit she sent Lloyd and the mech tumbling to the ground. Sensei gasped. "He's been hit!"

"We have to protect him!"

The ninja then jumped off of the dragon without a second thought and landed in front of the green ninja. The Overlord from above then fired a shot at them but Zane blocked it with ice. Nya then took the time to try and blast the ice shield to pieces. Kai then used his fire to blast the blasts causing an explosion around them. Sensei lead the dragon to a nearby building while all of this was happening and landed there. I jumped up and down in my seat. "We can't just leave them there! We have to help them! Go back Sensei!"

"There's too many of them." Misako shook her head.

I shook my own, not accepting tat as an answer. "There has to be something we can do."

"Oh! Look!" The woman pointed upwards. "The helmet is gone! It must have fallen off during the transformation."

Zane's dad looked confused. "Why does that matter?"

"He who wears the helmet controls the army!"

"What?"

"It was written in the scrolls." she continued. "What if the helmet was more than just a key to the clock? What if that helmet is the reason Garmadon was able to control the army in the first place? If we can find the helmet then we can stop the army!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" I looked around as Sensei took off again. As we were searching- Misako managed to spot it in the middle of the main road. Dareth however came out of nowhere and put the helmet on his own head. We quickly picked him up and flew Dareth back to the scene of the battle without much explaining and head the stone leader yell. "All hail the brown ninja! What do you command?"

"What's up fellas?" Dareth laughed. "Guess we all know who's in command now!"

I rolled my eyes.

"The helmet controls the army! Well done!" Cole grinned.

Jay gasped. "This means we now stand a fighting chance!"

"I need to get to the top of that fortress." Lloyd (and everyone else) looked up. "I may not be able to get there by myself _(referring to his foot)_ but with your help I can face him."

With a plan in their hearts- Dareth then moved the stone army up the fortress but were knocked down (off really) the building by Nya and her blasters. I wanted to head down there and help fight back but I was held back by the elderly people of our group (no offence to them). Instead we flew the dragon upwards and drew Nya's fire away from the ninja and the army. She managed to hit the dragon's tail though- forcing us to land. This was when we knew we would be of no more help to the ninja.

I was then kept away from all blasts and watched as the top of the building lite up! Lloyd was surrounded by green while the overlord fired purple flames from his mouth at Lloyd's figure. I gasped and leaned closer and watched as Lloyd pushed the blast away and enveloped himself with light. Next to me, Misako gasped. "He has become the ultimate spinjitzu master!"

"This is the final battle." Sensei leaned back to get a closer look.

The the light disappeared- Lloyd was no longer green. He was glowing gold and proceeded to fight back against the Overlord and successfully knock him off of the building. From there Lloyd was surrounded by light once again and conjured up his own dragon from that light. We were all in awe at the display of power Lloyd showed when he launched this ball of fire at the overlord which had the dragon tumbling down and spinning out of control until he almost hit the ground. But then he changed course and started flying upwards, roaring all the way back to the top of the building where Lloyd was. Suddenly the Overlord flew around Lloyd, covering him in black smoke so that we couldn't see him there. That ball of smoke seemed to grow exponentially with Lloyd inside. The ball grew so large that without warning it vanished and light returned to Ninjago starting at the center- the fortress.

Lloyd had defeated the overlord.

Nothing was left of either the stone army or the overlord and when we saw that the coast was clear, Sensei led the dragon down to the ninja where we jumped off. I didn't care for the words spoken by the "adults" and instead ran over to Zane and Cole, giving them the biggest hugs I could manage and then ran over to Kai and Jay with Nya and hugged them as well. I remember trying to give Nya a bigger hug because of what happened to her.

Lloyd then landed by the dragon (making his golden one disappear) and met up with Sensei Wu and Misako. I gasped, running over to him and practically tackled him in a hug. "Thank goodness you're alright! You were awesome Lloyd! You should have seen yourself!"

He laughed and ruffled my hair, gently prying me off of him. "Thank you Brittany."

"You've done well Lloyd!" Sensei smiled. "You've defeated the Overlord and because of you- there will be a tomorrow."

"Speaking of tomorrow-" Kai smirked. "-if the Overlord decided to show his face around here again, we'll be ready!"

Cole nodded in agreement. "And next time, we'll be a little more humble."

"And a little more wise." Zane added.

"And with better catchphrases." Jay joked, making us all laugh.

I caught my breath and looked over to see a figure stand up amongst all the rubble. I blinked and ran over to him. It was an old man who may have been younger than Sensei. I started moving some of the rubble around him so he could get out. "Are you ok sir? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine. Thank you child." He said.

"Dad?" Lloyd stared at him with his eyes wide open before breaking into a smile and a run. "DAD!"

"Lloyd? What happened?"

"Garmadon...is it really you?" Misako put a hand to cover her mouth. She walked up to them and hugged the old man as well. "Every ounce of venom and evil is gone!"

I blinked myself out of my shock and stepped back. "Garmadon? This is Garmadon?"

"Good to have you back brother!" Sensei grinned.

Garmadon smiled and met his brother halfway. "Wu! Good to be back!"

"Would you look at that?" Jay laughed. "Who would have thought that we would see the day? Should we dogpile him?"

"Let's give them their moment." Kai patted Jay on his back.

"I thought Wu was the younger brother…" I muttered. Sensei then hit me on the head with his staff. "I still am young one- you'll be amazed at what time can do to a person."

"Sorry Sensei- I didn't mean it that way."

Coel sighed and put his hands behind his head. "It's been quite a ride fellas."

"Do you think there will be others?" Zane smiled.

"I hope so! I liked being a ninja! It's not like we have many other skills."

"Ha!" Jay scoffed. "Speak for yourself! I'm looking forward to a little inventing, some model building- maybe poetry-"'

"Jay's right!" Kai cut him off. "We've come a long way and there's no reason to not use what we've learned in our everyday lives. Adn who knows we may have gotten the balance right today but there's always tomorrow. There's no way of knowing what's around the corner but if there's something worth fighting for- there's always a need for a ninja!"

"But what are you guys going to do until then?" I asked.

"We'll think of something." Nya shrugged. "We can start by helping you, you know."

I beamed. "Really? With my parents?!"

"We promised, didn't we?"

"Thank you so much!"


	12. The Darkness Never Left

The crew took time off from being ninjas to help me search through separate villages, asking each one about my tag. Some of them went to try to study the language to see if it had any connection to Ninjago at all. Lloyd, Garmadon and Misako however went their separate ways from us. Lloyd was doing a world tour thing while Garmadon...just left. We didn't really know where he went but knowing that he was no longer evil- we didn't really care.

During the search- the team and I were called to New Ninjago City by some guy names Cyrus Borg...he was the owner and main inventor of Borg Industries- the new main provider for all things technology for the rebuilt city of Ninjago. His invitation was vague and a little suspicious but we were all curious about the new changes of Ninjago City so we didn't put that much thought into it.

We arrived in the city in the tank...only for it to break down in the middle of the street after nearly crashing into a street cleaner! I pouted and left the tank as Cole picked it up and "parked" it. "Great…"

"Don't think too much on it Brittany." Kai patted my shoulder. "We'll fix it on our way out, ok?"

"Nya and I will fix it in a jiff but I want to see what Borg invited us for!" Jay grinned, practically dragging us all into the building. Once inside we were greeted by a silver android- with purple circuit highlights over her entire being. "Welcome to Borg Industries. I'm PIXAL. Cyrus' Primary Interactive eXternal Assistant Lifeform. I'm sorry to hear about the traffic accident."

"Wow, news travels fast." Cole smirked.

"Everything in New Ninjago City is fully automated and interconnected- you antiquated tank should be fixed and waiting by the end of the tour. You are Zane a droid like me. What does Zane stand for?" PIXAL stepped closer to our friend in question and stared him down.

"I stand for peace, freedom and courage in the face of those who threaten-"

"She means your name tin head." Jay cut Zane off, shaking him a bit before retreating backwards with the rest of our group.

"Oh." Zane blinked. "I guess I'm just Zane."

"Permission to scan?" PIXAL continued to stare into the artificial soul of our favorite nindroid.

Zane seemed to trip over his words. "I- uh...per-permission grant-ted."

"Would you check it out?!" Jay snickered, elbowing Nya in her side (gently of course). "Zane has an admirer."

"Your hardware is outdated and your processor is not compatible with ours. Peculiar- all droids must recharge our batteries yet curiously I am not able to identify your power source. What powers you?" PIXAL looked up after she completed her scan. I'm fairly sure that if it were possible Zane would be a blushing mess. "I-I don't know."

"Borg would like to meet the ninja on the 100th floor. If you would like a tour please follow me." PIXAL then started to walk away as our little group split up.

I started to follow Nya, Sensei and PIXAL but thought of something and ran to the ninja. "If you get the chance- ask him if could help find my parents."

"We'll see what we can do Brittany." Kai ruffled my hair. "Now go- they're already leaving without you."

I looked behind me and sure enough my trio was already halfway out the door. I gasped and started to run after them. "Have fun guys! Thank you!"

"You have fun too Pinky!" Cole called after me.

I smiled and waved goodbye- catching up with my little group. PIXAL then took the opportunity to start explaining the building. "Mr. Borg believes technology is making our dreams come true."

We were then led to a room filled with holograms and flying cars and everything looked so cool! Further into the room- we saw panels that showed futuristic video games and different battle sequences that I couldn't help but be entranced by. "Even now he is working on a digiverse where the gamer will be digitally scanned in to take video games to another level."

We didn't stay for long to see it in full effect but I remember being in total awe of the products this man alone was inventing.

Without much warning all of the machines (including PIXAL) showed glowing red eyes. "This will be the end of your tour."

I blinked and stood a little closer to Nya and Sensei Wu. "Ummm...why?"

"Sorry- but we will no longer be accepting any more questions." PIXAL then started fighting Sensei while Nya and I had to kick down the oncoming machines. "That's a shame- really it is." I struck down the machines watching as the fire from my sword melted their coverings. "I had a whole list of things Is till wanted to know."

"Really Brittany?" Nya sighed as she kicked another one down. "Now?"

"What? I'm being honest!" I looked over my shoulder at the wrong moment and was hit in the gut which sent me flying across the factory line.

Just then a blast broke through the window- shattering it and zapping the machines in front of me. Whine I found the strength to stand up again, I saw the ninja outside in a helicopter of sort with new gi. "Get on!" Yelled Cole. "We have to get back to the tank!"

Sensei and I ran over to them and hopped onto the little stand that they had attached to the chopper. Nya was so close to getting out but PIXAL grabbed her by her foot trying to pull her back inside. Not being one to back down- Nya kicked PIXAL in her face and jumped from the building and onto the side of the helicopter. "She's one of them! Come on! We have to go!"

So Zane (the driver...pilot?) moved away from the building and landed by our tank. "You and Brittany get back to the base as fast as you can! We need the golden ninja!" Kai instructed.

"But what about you guys?" Nya got in the driver's seat, eager to turn it on."'

Sensei shook his head. "We'll be fine. We must protect the people."

"Guys!" I said...admittedly louder than I intended. All their attention turned to me and something in their eyes told me for once I should just do as I was told. "Be...be careful."

The boys collectively nodded and started running away from the tank. The second I was strapped in my seat Nya sped off onto the night trying to get to our home in record time. The ride was silent for the most part until Nya said. "You wanted to help them, didn't you? That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…" I looked out the window and at the passing scenery.

Nothing else was said- nothing else needed to be said.

When we reached our destination, Nya borderline teleported out of the tank, leaving me behind and ran into the building to call Lloyd. I ran in as well after I successfully got out of the tank without a near death experience. By the time I was already inside and in the same room as Nya, she was already in communication with the Golden Ninja.

It didn't take long for Lloyd to get the jist of what was happening and what our situation was to agree to help and say that was already on his way to New Ninjago City. that left Nya and I with nothing to do and with the agonising task of waiting. We were so anxious about the results of tonight's fiasco that we couldn't sleep for the entire night. It was only until the first rays of dawn did any sort of slumber over take my person.

When I woke up it was already late in the day and we were in the tank? Sitting up, I realized that we were moving and the ninja had new rides. Lloyd was there was well but I couldn't really see where. "Well good morning sunshine!" Nya smiled.

I yawned. "Where are we going?"

"A safe house." Kai's voice came through the intercom. "We can't let the overlord know where we are so we had to changes bases for now."

"Oh…" I yawned again. "Where's Sensei Wu?"

Silence.

"I don't want to be the one to tell her." Cole's voice rang out.

"He is not with us- it was only way we could escape!" Zane said.

I felt a immense sadness overtake me. "So he's gone again?"

"He's fine though- they can't break him." Kai cut through. "But that's why we had to leave…"

I didn't say anything for the rest of the ride and the only things said were the directions for where we were going. When we arrived at our destination the first thing the guys did was cover their new rides with leaves and other things (*cough cough trees cough cough Cole cough cough*) so that it would be less likely to be found. Throughout this whole thing I was still half asleep so while I saw Nya pass Lloyd his new gi- I don't remember him changing into it. One minute he wasn't wearing it and the next he was.

Misako then showed up out of nowhere and greeted her son with a hug. "What are you all doing here?"

"The overlord is back." Lloyd explained. "And New Ninjago City had fallen under his control...he has Sensei Wu."

"Wu is tough." Misako nodded. "There's a reason he's lived as long as he has."

With a brighter spirit lloyd asked. "Where's dad?"

"Yeah-" Kai rolled his eyes. "-where's Lord Garmadon?"

"He no longer goes by Lord- here he is Sensei Garmadon." Misako started walking towards Kai. "And he won't be back until this evenings lesson."

Jay blinked. "Did you just say Sensei Garmadon?"

"I'm glad he's on our side now." Zane stretched his arms. "With Sensei Wu gone, we could use the help."

"Come in- but your weapons are not allowed." Misako started leading the way 'They wouldn't know about my weapons, right?...maybe…' I bit my lip, watching as the guys left their new weapons behind. Misako continued on. "Ever since loyd saved his father- Garmadon swore an oath to never again fight with the hope to make up for his evil past. It's an oath he takes very seriously."

"But we were told to protect those with our lives…" Kai stopped in his tracks.

"You can go ahead then." Zane took the weapons. "I'll stay behind and watch over them."

Immediately they gave their weapons to Zane, not thinking much of it and followed Misako. Is topped for a second to look behind me. Zane gestured with his head to follow them but I continued hesitating. "Will you be ok Zane?"

"I'm positive- go on Brittany."

I looked between the group and Zane a few more times before giving up and slowly turning to follow the others. "If you say so...I'm still holding you to your promise."

"I'm not planning on breaking it." He smiled.

I nodded and ran to catch up with my friends who were already a good distance away.

It took us a while but we finally made it to the grounds where Garmadon had taken up residence. I stayed back as the guys interacted with some kids that were playing in the open space. Misako then started talking to Nya about the boys while I tried my best to move around everyone without catching too much attention to myself. "LOOK! She has pink hair!"

You can see how well that was going for me.

"Uhhh...hi…" I waved.

It was that simple introduction that helped me spend time with some of the kids...somewhat close to my age. I was the oldest by a year or two but I had the most fun I've had for the first time in awhile. By nightfall the kids and the ninja were invited to join Garmadon's lesson. I-uh...how do I say this?

I politely declined the invitation.

I stayed the night in a guest room Garmadon had been so kind to give us. While there was no one to sneak a peek- I was bending the water from a glass I was given. I nearly dropped the whole thing when there was a knock at the door. "Come- come in!"

It was Misako.

"You're not going to join the lesson? "She smiled.

"No...I got some stuff I want to think through. " I shrugged.

She sat down n the bed. "If you don't mind- may I ask about what?"

I didn't say anything for awhile but I willing to sit down on the bed next to her. We sat in silence for a little longer before I threw myself backwards so I was laying down on the bed. "I'm turning ten...my birthday is tomorrow."

"What?" She looked at me- eyes wide. "Has it been that long already?"

Suddenly there was a scream- causing me to bolt out of the room. The sight that greeted me was Kai about to dismantle a captured PIXAL. Zane stopped him immediately and used his technoblade to reboot her system. After a brief explanation about our situation and why the technoblades are important (they can essentially delete the overlord), PIXAL oh so graciously announced that she did not come alone.

Within seconds, we were surrounded by nindroids, faster and stronger than we could ever wish to be. Most of us resolved into using our spinjitzu to take them down but we had to retreat back into Garmadon's sanctuary but the nindroids in turn started following us and working together to corner us. Just in case you're wondering- Misako B-lined for the students to take them to a safe place and avoid any sort of danger

When we had nowhere else to run- Cole suggested that we hide out in the water wheel and use it as a path maker to be able to leave the place. It worked surprisingly well and when we reached the forest part, we all hopped out and back into our vehicles- taking off into the night.

We weren't able to get a huge head start though because the nindroids apparently had their own vehicles and promptly chased after us. Luckily for us though- that's what we had them believe. In reality we stayed in the wheel while our rides left without us. Cole took down his bandana. "It won't be long until they figure out we used auto-pilot- we should get a move on."

"I'm coming with you." Garmadon said. "If the overlord wants my son, I'm not letting him out of my sight."

"Wait!" Lloyd stopped us from going any further. "If the overlord wants me and the technoblades are the only thing that can stop him- shouldn't we split up? Just in case?"

"Good thinking." Nya nodded in agreement. "Zane's falcon knows the secret location of my Samurai X cave. Lloyd- you and your father go and take what you need to get as far away from us as possible."

"Secret cave?" Jay started hopping on the balls of his feet. "I thought we knew everything about each other."

"Well...a girl's gotta have her secrets." Nya rested her hands on her hips- looking quite proud of herself.

"What are you guys going to do?" Lloyd shook his head. "These nindroids aren't going to et you step one foot into the city!"

"Yeah Nya what are we going to do?" Jay tilted his head.

"We're going to shut down the power!" She grinned.

"Ok...but that doesn't answer explain how we're going to get into the city." I ran my hands through my hair.

"I think you should stay here Brittany." Jay tried to say but I wouldn't hear it.

"No- I'm helping you whether you like it or not! I'm not being pushed out of this one." I crossed my arms.

"Brittany- you're still really young-"

"You're not that much older than I am you know." I furrowed my eyebrows. "My birthday is tomorrow so that makes you only older by like five years Jay. If you can, why can't I?"

"Your...you're..."

"It's been that long already?"

I smiled. "Yeah- Misako said that too. I get why you don't want me to help but I'm going to have to go with someone, aren't I? So how are we getting into the city?"

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind." I looked around the cabin. We were currently traveling by circus train...talk about a ride with style, amiright?

"Well we couldn't think of anything better ok? And they were kind enough to offer it anyway." Kai ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not really impressed by it either if that makes you feel any better."

"Hey- we got a hide! We're reaching the border and we're sure they're going to check the train!" Jay came in.

Without much thought, we hid in a box that had a secret compartment under it, so while it looked empty..it actually held me, Jay, Kai, Cole and Nya. Soon enough Jay was right and we could hear the nindroids coming ever closer to the box. My heart was pounding in my chest and I early felt like screaming when I heard the box open. Luckily we weren't spotted and were soon able to get out of the cramped box.

"We'll take you up as far as the station." Said the magician. "But you would have to get to the power grid all on your own."

"Sounds fair." I nodded. Then he (and a clown) disappeared in a cloud of smoke, making us all cough. "Show off."

"So Nya…" Cole turned to her "...when we get to the power substation, do you really think we can shut down all of the nindroids by just flipping a switch? Not to mention powering off the Overlord as well."

"Cripple them...yes but destroy- no." She shook her head. "Once we power down the nindroids army we still need to reboot the central computer with the technoblades. And don't forget- since they know we have them they aren't going to just let us waltz in."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,- wait a minute!" Jay interjected. "If shutting down the power means everything connected to it- wouldn't that mean PIXAL too?"

The boys looked between each other until Cole stepped up. "If Zane hasn't figured it out- don't tell him. If we're going to have to fight more nindroids we're going to have to be on our A game."

"Speaking of which- where is Zane?" Kai tilted his head.

"Probably with PIXAL." I shrugged.

"Should we check on them or…?" Jay shifted his weight onto one foot, making it seem like he was going to leave.

"I say- let them be." Cole waved off Jay.

Kai nodded. "I agree- if PIXAL could be shut off, let the guy spend some time with her."

"What if that would hurt Zane more?" I messed with the hem of my shirt. My gi was lost in the chaos of this new adventure and it's not like I was given a new one like the guys were.

"I think he'll be fine…" Nya put a hand on my shoulder. "It's not like she'll be gone forever. PIXAL would be back once we reboot the system and defeat the OVerlord once and for all."

"Ok.." I bit my lip. "If you say so."

With that settled everyone went their separate ways and I took the time to mess around with all of the equipment the circus people had. To say the least- I lost track of time and was gathered by the group of ninja once we reached our destination. We all hopped off of the train cars and watched as lightning struck in the distance.

I started walking forward. "Do you think it'll rain soon or that the lightning was caused by the tower?"

"My money's on the tower." Kai walked next to me. "This is where all of Ninjago get their power."

"We're totally not alone." Jay looked up- leading us all to look at the nindroids that were crawling as over the place.

Kai frowned. "Talk about a welcome party."

"If we want to get inside we have to stay out of sight." Nya ran a hand through her hair. "There's no way we can take them all on."

"You mean we get to be ninja for a change?!" Jay grinned. "WOO HOO!"

"I'll stay behind." PIXAL turned to Zane. "I'm not built for stealth and cannot assist you."

Zane put his hands on her shoulders. "Be safe and stay out of trouble. I'll see you later."

I looked away and kept walking not entirely sure how to go about this whole thing. Little by little we made our way to the tower and up the legs- avoiding all and every little piece of metal that could have been a nindroid. Once we reached the top of the leg we waited for the coast to be clear. When the group of nindroids left- we climbed over the railing and quickly made our way to the second floor. It wasn't really a jump I could make though so Cole (without any question) carried me up. I swear he used his super strength in every advantage or opportunity her had.

When we made it to the core of the building- Nya pointed to a glowing blue tube in the center of the room. "That's the core power source- we shut that down and it's light out for the Overlord." She paused and bit her lip. "It would be a whole easier if we knew which switch it was."

Without a moment to lose we moved to the side panels where all of the buttons were. This was the moment where we all took a chance at button mashing since there was so many buttons to choose from and too little time. Cole groaned. "None of these buttons are doing anything!"

"Jay! Turn down that radio will you! You're going to get us caught!"

"Ok fine killjoy!"

I rolled my eyes and continued my button smashing. Kai tried to use his technoblade on the tube but all he did was hit it. "AHHH! Stupid technology!"

Cole then stepped next to Kai and tried to hit the tube with his own weapon. "It can't be as hard as it looks...ok nevermind, definitely harder."

I had to stifle my laugh and continue the button mashing. Jay groaned. "Button, button- who's got the button?!"

"Jay shut up! Be quiet!"

"I am being quiet! You be quiet!"

Without warning, an alarm started blaring sending us all into a panic. In record time Nya pulled up a camera. "Nindroids! Our cover has been blown! Seal all of the doors and find a way to shut it down!"

"PIXAL!" Zane gasped. "Don't seal the door! I'm going out there to help her!"

"Are you crazy?!" Jay held Zane from his shoulders to keep him from running out. "We barely fixed you up the last time we fought them."

Zane got out of Jay's hold- moving his body towards the door. "You didn't fix me- SHE DID!"

Cole then opened the door for Zane and let him out to help his potencial robot girlfriend. Unfortunately Cole ended up letting one of the nindroids in...that was about my size- way smaller than the usual design. Jay groaned. "Great! Now they come in fun size?!"

I took a running start and kicked the nindroid in the head- sending it across the room. I was met with multiple blank stares. "What? Someone had to do it!"

"Keep his distracted! I'll try to shut it down!" Nya ran back to the panels and restarted her button mashing.

"Let's just hack him with the technoblade!" Kai yelled- causing each one to take out their respective weapons. Cole took the first shot but the little nindroid stood up and spun with his sword in hand- effectively blocking Cole's shot. "I'm trying but I gotta hand it to the little runt- he doesn't know when to quit!"

"Quit?" Said the robot and promptly shot a laser beam out of its one eye- hitting the tube and cracking the glass.

Kai's eyes widened. "That's it! Fight without fighting!"

"This is no time for a lesson Kai!" Jay grimaced. The red ninja then jumped in front of the tube and taunted the nindroid. "Hey- halfpint! Over here!"

It did the trick he wanted- the nindroid shot at Kai again but successfully hit the tube instead. Kai sat up from his spot on the floor next to Cole. "We need to provoke him more!"

"Or more nindroids!" Cole grinned from under his bandana. "Nya! Open the door!"

She grinned. "I see where you're headed!"

Not missing a beat Nya opened the door and got out of the way just in time before a swarm of nindroids came into the room and started shooting at my friends. I ran to join Nya- avoiding all that I could just much as the ninjas were dodging the lasers but in my opinion they had it tougher because they really couldn't move from their spot.

Little by little the glass took more damage until finally the glass was fragile enough to take hits. Luckily for us, a nindroid provided that final hit. It jumped out of the group, attempting to kick Jay in the face but when Jay moved out of the way- he broke through the glass and landed in the blue power...stuff...it looked like gel but I have no idea to this day what it was. With in seconds the nindroid started spinning out of control- absorbing too much energy untli everything both imploded and exploded- leaving my group and the nindroids on the floor and everything in pitch blackness. Knowing we had succeeded, we all made our way around the nindroids and out of the door. Kai grinned. "We did it!"

"Zane?" I blinked.

We had walked in on Zane holding a dying PIXAL in his arms. She looked up at him- weak from the loss of power and said. "This is why I wanted to stay back...so you would not see me like this."

Her voice was coming out in breaks and glitched every so often- for a nindroid Zane held a pain in his eyes. "You knew this would happen?"

"You mission was important...I was not." PIXAL took a long pause. "I am to assist...I assisted."

"Your'e using up your reserve- don't say anything more until we find you more power." Zane started getting up- looking panicked.

"You've destroyed the only power source in all of Ninjago. "PIXAL continued talking. None of us dared to utter a single word in fear of breaking the heart shattering spell in front of us. "Power-" She said. "-will now be non-existent."

PIXAL then reached out and took Zane's hand in her own. "We are not too different..are we? We are…compatible?"

Zane held a sad smile on his face. "Yes...yes we are."

The light in PIXAL's eyes dimmed and her hand fell to the floor shortly after. We all walked up to Zane in silence still not saying a thing. Nya and I put a hand on Zane's back as the moment of silence grew on. I looked up to each of the faces of my teammates and bit my lip. "What do we do now?"

All attention turned to me. Cole sighed- running a hand down his face. "We need a place to recap and think of the next strategy and to rest as well...anyone have any ideas?"

Nys stood up. "Jay? Do you think your parents have any spare room?"

"At the junkyard?" Jay blinked. "Maybe…"

"We'll head there first then." Cole looked down at Zane. "Zane you can bring PIXAL- we'll find a way to give her power again."

I stood up and smiled at my friends...we have to keep moving forward after all.


	13. The Start of a Losing Battle

The junkyard actually turned out to be a very good call on our part. Since Jay's dad invents all sorts of things- they already had a mechanism in place in case they lose power. Ed agreed to help us get to New Ninjago City faster but they had to find the parts to build such a thing around the junkyard. I think the main thing they had to look for was a jiggly converter compound processor...or at least something along those lines. I didn't have the job. My job was to help repair PIXAL while the boys (minus Zane) found the jiggly what-cha-ma-call-it...even if it was mostly watching the repair and drinking some juice instead of helping.

The plan was to take half of Zane's power source and implant it into PIXAL so that she wouldn't have to rely on Ninjago's power. Nya took half of the glowing disk out of Zane's chest. "Are you sure you want to do this Zane? Altering your original design could have...disastrous consequences…"

"She risked her life for me." Zane nodded in response. "The least I can do is try to get her back."

Taking that as her cue, Nya placed the half disk on PIXAL's body which somehow absorbed it. Immediately PIXAL woke up as if she had a nightmare. "Where am I? What happened?"

With wide eyes, PIXAL noticed that Zane no longer had his full power. "You gave me half your power source...my processor does not compute."

"You are the only one who knows Borg's system. "Zane said. "You are vital to the mission."

Now I don't want to step on any toes but I'm pretty sure Zane only said that as a cover up and he did it just to keep her around. He only confirmed my suspicious when he followed up his statement saying. "And...you are vital to me."

Which basically could be translated to- here's why everyone else would want to here but I want you here just for kicks.

"Ohhh!" Edna cooed. "Robot love! Call me a sucker! But if they have half of what you and Jay have!"

"Nya and Jay?" PIXAL immediately turned to the girl in question. "Judging from the perfect match compatibility, perhaps Nya and Cole would be a closer comparison."

I spat out my drink- borderline choking on it as some went to the wrong tube. Everyone else's jaws went slack. Edna quickly came over with some napkins to clean up my slight mess. "Nya and Cole?"

"Perhaps you mean Jay- maybe her processor was damaged." Zane tried to save the situation.

"My processor is fully operational." PIXAL sassed. "The perfect match for Nya isn't Jay but Cole."

"Cole's her perfect match?!" Jay yelled.

"Uh-oh." I dry coughed into some more napkins. Edna rubbed circles on my back. "Are you ok dear?" She whispered.

I nodded and watched as Nya tried to explain. "Jay…"

"Huh! It's so quiet in here- what did I miss?" Cole and Kai walked in. "Another Jay Walker gut buster?"

Outraged Jay turned around. "You backstabbing no good-"

Then he tackled Cole to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" Cole tried to pry Jay off of him. Everytime he failed their "fighting" would get more intense.

Kai sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I hope Lloyd is faring better than us." _'If he is...I probably should have gone with him instead of sticking around these guys...who am I kidding? They never would have let me out of their sights.'_

Finally Jay pushed Cole away and said. "Do you know why you're the black ninja? Because it's the color of your heart!"

"Oh yeah!" Cole frowned. "What's the point in a being a blue ninja? Unless you're planning in hiding out in some clown college!"

"You take that back!" Jay launched himself at Cole again. "There are reputable performers that attend clown college."

I slowly moved over to Kai and tugged on his sleeve. He turned his head to look at me so I said. "What the heck is happening here?"

"You tell me- why is Jay so mad at Cole?"

"PIXAL said Cole would be a better match fo Nya instead of Jay." I whispered into his ear.

Kai's eyes widened. "Oh."

"I don't see why you would want to settle this with arm wrestling." Cole said- pinning Jay to the ground. "You know I have super strength."

They both flipped over each other -pushing one another. This was when we tried to pull the two of them apart. Jay fought to keep his hold on Cole. "Oh yeah- well I'm super hooped and I haven't brushed my teeth in a week!"

Jay then blew his breath into Cole's face and in response Cole moved away-disgusted with what just happened to his senses. Cole wasn't going to back down though so the two of them just started blowing their breaths in each others faces. Nya sighed. "This macho stuff is making you both look like fools! Maybe you belong together!"

Suddenly the trailera shook and the next thing we know we were in the air. Ed opened the door and looked outside. "The machines haven't worked since the outage! What's powering them?"

"Nindroids!" Kai yelled. "But the question is - what's powering them?!"

The nindroids then wasted no time in spinning us all around and blasting the trailer with destructible lasers. PIXAL- as calm as ever- said. "They're after the technoblades."

"Oh yeah!" Jay frowned. "Well they almost hit my mother!"

"Oh don't you worry about us sweetie- we prepare for every situation!" Edna smiled as Ed helped her put on a parachute of sorts.

Jay sat a lighter straighter. "Did you make one for me?"

"Sorry hun-" She looked at him before jumping. "-but you hardly ever come to visit."

"Good luck kiddo- watch over the junk while we're gone, will ya?" Ed said and then the two of them used what I now could see were jetpacks powered by bubbles to get out of the spinning mess.

"I blame you for this!" Jay shook Cole.

Cole looked taken aback. "What did I do? You're the one who wanted to stay in a junk heap for the nindroids-"

"Enough you two!" Kai rolled his eyes. "Even if we don't have our elemental powers- we still have our spinjitzu!"

As Kai turned to PIXAL I started using the force of th spin to stand up and inch my way toward the hole. I couldn't get far before we found ourselves upside down and momentaily suspended in midair. On the way back down we all screamed and jumped out when we felt the tension in the swing release. Everyone but Zane and PIXAL landed on a nearby crane. I landed shortly after but my footing was off- so in a panic I started frantically waving my arms around- however- I failed to catch myself. Kai thankfully had quick enough reflexes to grab my arm and hoist me onto an edge where I could hold on.

Without any hesitation- Zane and PIXAL were being shot at by the nindroids which spurred both Jay and Cole into action to protect their friends. When they ran through they managed to get themselves trapped in a trash compactor. Kai, Nya and I made our way down from the crane and split up. Nya tried to take the nindroid down from controlling the crane while Kai went to save Cole and Jay so with those bases covered I made my way to save my other friends.

Instantly some of the fire was sent my way and I had to dodge and block the lasers- knocking some of the nindroids off of the junk piles. As I got closer I saw Zane be blasted away from a shot leaving both PIXAL and himself open to anything. The crane nindroid went back to controlling the magnet and successfully trapped Zane against it. A separate nindroid then threw around blue electrical eels and powered up the scattered nindroids around the area. Zane was then transferred over a pulverizer and slowly lowered down as the ninjas trapped PIXAL. I threw down a speed potion before anymore nindroids could get me and ran towards the crane. From my peripheral vision I saw PIXAL knock away the nindroids holder her down and run towards Zane. Together we took out the nindroids- PIXAL with Zane and I with the driver. The leader laughed. "He needs a little girl to protect him?"

I frown and spinjitzu-ed him while Zane and PIXAL fought together- taking down the nindroids that surrounded them. Each time that they were knocked down thought- they got back up- leaving me with the job of helping them. With my sword out I started slicing through the nindroids- setting them aflame. A few yards away we could hear a commotion going on. "GO! I got this!" I yelled- slicing an arm off. "They're no match for my sword anyway."

"Right!" Zane took PIXAL's hand and ran with her. Soon I reduced the number of nindroids to where I could count them with just my fingers but they all started retreating. Seconds later a plane of sorts flew overhead- leading the nindroids away- I took that as my cue to regroup with the others. Kai said. "Whoever it was- they turned our Sensei against us."

"Then if we want to save him, we need to find out who this stranger is." Cole put his hands on his hips.

"Sensei's against us?" I blinked.

"Brittany are you hurt?"

I shook my head.

"Perhaps I can have an answer for you in a few moments." PIXAL walked up to a pile of junk and started scanning. Soon enough she picked something small and white.

Cole tilted his head. "What is it?"

"It's a clue you dirt clod!" Jay shoved Cole.

Cole responded bt getting up in Jay's face. "I know it's a clue zap trap but it's so small! I just wanted to know what-"

"Stop it!" Nya and I yelled in unison. All heads turned towards us but I crossed my arms and looked away. Nya then walked up to PIXAL. "PIXAL-" She said. "-can you analyse it?"

"At the moment this sample is far too small but given time I should have an answer!" The android replied.

"Then it's settled- we should waste no more time and get back to the city. I'll use my falcon vision to warn Lloyd of our findings." Zane nodded to himself.

Nya ran a hand through her hair and started talking to the others- ignoring Cole and Jay as they started bickering again. I on the other hand couldn't tune them out as well as the others and walked straight up to them, punching them both as hard as my little minecraftian arms would allow. "OW!"

"Brittany what gives?!" Jay glared at me.

"Yeah Brittany what the hey?!" Cole snapped.

I stomped my foot- feeling the tears start to pool. "You two need to grow up! You nearly got each other killed because of whatever stupid thing is happening between you! I won't-... I can't-…"

Instantly Jay and Cole gave way to concern and approached me slowly.

"Hey...don't cry."

"We'll be better."

I looked at the ground, avoiding their stares. "I don't understand what's really happening between you but stop it, we're all a team- we shouldn't be fighting in the first place. You said we were family! Why are you doing this?!"

"Brittany..." The words failed to leave their mouths and both of them trailed off at the end. We stood there in silence for a solid minute or so- none of the boys knew what to do next as I wiped the rouge tears from my face.

"We gotta go." I stepped away and started to catch up with the others. I didn't bother looking back at them and focused on calming myself down. Eventually we made it back to the jet we -uh- commundered and flew back to the city. I stayed quiet the entire time and couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with anyone. When we landed, the guys took it upon themselves to step forward and survey the area.

"What happened?' Kai stared- slack jawed and wide eyed.

Cole turned to his friend. "They ran out of power- that's what happened!"

"Are we too late?" Zane bit his lip.

One of them seemed to have set off a trip wire- causing several hoverboards and cars to collapse and once they settled, the people emerge with whatever weapons they could muster- the leader shouting. "Outsiders must answer to the postman!"

"Return to sender!" Yelled the postman. The guys looked amongst themselves, confused as a baby bird meeting a rabbit and simply stood there.

"You finally made it!" Cyrus wheeled himself above the mess. "Don't mind the savages- everyone has grown a bit bored. Imagination knows no bounds." He stopped in front of the ninja and smiled. We took that as our cue to rejoin the ninja and made our way forwards.

I smiled and ran to the ninja- I waved at the people and turned to the man in the wheelchair.

"Look she has pink hair!"

"Yeah- do you think it's dyed?"

"No doubt about it! Where did she get it that way?"

"My money's on that it's a wig."

I looked back up at the people and shrank away from them. ' _That's right...my hair's not normal...I got so used to my little group that I completely forgot.'_

"PIXAL!" Cyrus exclaimed. "Amazing! You're...powered!"

"Hey- you didn't stay in character Borg." Yelled the postman.

"Ignore the people talking about your hair." Kai whispered. I blinked- I didn't think he would have noticed. "They're just jealous." He said while adding a wink.

"We have real problems to address!" Cyrus yelled- shooing away the people. I flashed a smile towards Kai to tell him I was ok.

"PIXAL what's powering you?"

"Zane gave my half of his heart." She said- moving to Cyrus' side.

"Thank you Zane I am greatly indebted." Cyrus bowed as much as he could in his wheelchair. "Unfortunately the hard drive was stolen with the digital imprint of the Overlord. You'll be unable to erase him with your technoblades until we find it."

"Don't worry about it." Jay waved him off. "We already had a run in with the red handed suspect- or should I say white handed?" He pulled out the little white piece of evidence. "He left behind this scale! Get this- he's serpentine!"

Cole then removed a cover on the street- oh- a manhole- he removed a manhole on the street and said. "Lucky for us! The last serpentine were sealed in a tomb right under the city, so it's about time we pay them a little visit."

"Approach with caution!" Cyrus wanted. "I also lost a few prototypes...he may be armed and extremely dangerous."

"We know! Hahaha…." Jay smiled. "And just for the record- when those prototypes are available to the public- could you let me know? They're just the coolest gadgets!"

I rolled my eyes at Jay as he climbed down- Cole and Nya were already in and Kai ushered me to go next. I tilted my head in confusion but Kai beat me to it. "I'll go after you- it's just in case of trouble- you'll have a better rate of safety."

I nodded and went in. "Wish us luck Mr. Borg!"

"Take care little ninja!"

I grinned and started climbing down the available ladder- instantly I puffed the air out of my nose. "It smells down here."

"What did you expect Brittany?" Cole answered. "It's a sewer after all...watch your step Nya- we don't know when the last time this ladder was used."

"That's thoughtful of you Cole." She responded. Jay suddenly stopped moving- causing us all at the top to stop as well. "Ahh-ya-ua-eh-ah! How 'bout you watch where you're watching Cole?!"

Suddenly there was a clang and Nya said something but I couldn't make out what she said over Cole's and Jay's voices. Instead of paying attention to what they were saying I tried to take another step down accidentally stepping on Jay's hand. We both reacted quickly but in my reaction my hand slipped and I fell down onto Jay. Because of that- Jay fell a little bit as well, crashing into Cole but managed to catch himself and me before both of our combined weight brought Cole down as well. Cole on the other hand dropped lower - expecting to be hit and looked down when he realized he wasn't which led him to noticing Nya hanging on the ladder- still several feet above the ground. "I got you Nya!"

With those two out of the way- Jay left me on the ladder and jumped after the last two. "I can't believe you!"

I sighed and continued my way down- focusing my efforts on my limb placement instead of the words exchanged. When Kai and Zane had enough room- the two simple backflipped off of the ladder. Zane walked up to me right as he landed. "Are you alright Brittany?"

I nodded but showed him my elbow. "I hit it on the ladder and it hurts."

"You scraped it." He looked at it gently- I tried to see it myself but it was at that weird angle where you just can't see your arm. "It's a shame you grew out of your gi- it would be better to avoid infection while we're down here. I do not have any bandages on my person either."

"It's Brittany's fault for falling on me!" Jay screamed.

"If you kept moving it would have been fine and besides Nya was trouble- so if anything she wasn't needed to be brought into this stupid argument you were having!" Kai smacked Jay across the head. "You two need to realise that there are people being affected by what you say and do! You both need to work out what the issue is and get over it!"

I gulped and held my hand to my chest. "I didn't mean to Jay...promise..."

"Let's keep our eyes peeled." Zane attempted to diffuse the situation. "The mystery suspect could be anywhere down here."

"Whoa- Brittany! Your arm!" Cole shouted. "Are you ok? When did you get that?"

"I scratched it when I fell." I stood closer to Kai. "I'm ok...it's...just sore..."

"You sure you want to come with us?" Kai asked- looking over his shoulder at me. I nodded and continued to stay silent.

"We might as well get started." Nya sighed and started to lead that way. I didn't missed the glare Kai shot at the blue and black ninja. Zane stood by my side most of the way through the sewer. One by one the guys started to take out glow sticks to light our path. "Serpentine…" Kai sighed. "...never thought we'd see them again."

As we continued our way through- the sewers soon transformed into more adigged tunnel and it didn't take long after that for us to hit a stone like dor. Kai gazed at it in amazement. "The tomb of the stone army- it's been sealed since the serpentine were trapped here."

"It appears that the seal has been opened." Zane tilted his head.

As if on cue, we heard some whistling coming from the other side of the tunnel and who do we see. I gasped. "Scales!"

"AHH! Not you guys again!"

"Scales." Cole growled. "Something told me you'd be behind this. Search his bag!"

Jay and Kai then stepped forward no questions asked. Scales seemed appalled. "Thiss iss harasssment! I've done nothing wrong."

"Except steal the hard drive!" Jay frowned. "Where is it? What are you hiding?"

Kai then took it upon himself to empty the bag. "He's hiding...groceries? And the latest issue of _Ninjago Times_ …"

"What can I ssay? I'm a ssucker for the crosssword puzzles. Sorry you got the wrong snake." He took back the newspaper and closed his bag.

"Daddy?"

Immediately we all looked back towards the door and saw a tiny serpentine followed by a pink adult female. "Are you ok?"

"Ssstay inside Scales Junior!" the adult female scolded.

"Scales Junior?" Kai raised an eyebrow. "You have a son?"

"We've been busy since you've left us." Scales slithered toward the other two. "We prefer to keep it that way."

"Is this about the Golden Master?" Asked the tiny one. "Is he going to hurt us?"

"That's only a sstory sson." Scales comforted Scales Junior. "They were just leaving."

"Golden Master?" Zane frowned. "Is this about Lloyd?"

"Like you- we have our own legendsss." Scaled rolled his eyes. "But I guesss in ourss you are the bad guyss."

Nya then stepped forward. "What legend?"

"They have a right to know." Said Scale's (what I assumed to be his) wife. "If we are going to shed a new skin- we must open our home to othersss."

Scales Senior sighed. "Very well...let's go sssurface dewellers...if you would like to hear the curse of the Golden Master- follow me."

Kai sighed as well. "I don't like serpentine...but I don't like curses either...if it has anything to do with Lloyd we need to know."

We followed the snakes into their new home and watched as we continuously gathered a series of stares and nasty looks. The inside of the cave was gorgeous though- different colored lights gave it an otherworldly glow. Scales started speaking once we were away from the main crowd. "After a rather humbling scrap with those indestructible stone warriors- we've made amends with our warring past and found ways to better ourselves."

"So you've made a few snakes go straight but there must be some bad apples- fangpire have white scales don't they?" Kai raised an eyebrow, not believing their story.

"A few...is this about the missing hard drive?" Scales asked- not affected at all by Kai's intimidation.

Cole rolled his eyes. "It's about the Overlord."

"Oh the Overlord! Glad we weren't there for that mess!" Scales wiped his forehead from fake sweat...do snakes even sweat? "No… we have no desire to meddle with the affairs above. Asss you can ssee- we sstick to our own. We only want what'sss besst for for the next generation. Have a sseat...ssee what you can learn about your precious Golden Master."

We then did as we were told and sat down around a nearby fire- without warning a second former general came by and said. "Hello hatchlings and camouflaged land dwellers- who would like to learn about the curse of the Golden Master?"

"Tell me!" Jay raised his arms. "Tell meee!"

"Everyone come closer." He hissed and then spat his hallucinogenic venom into the fire...no biggie right? "When the first spinjitzu master created Ninjago- deep into ground- he created the serpentine. Since the age of dawn our elders knew about the curse of the Golden Master- whe he- who has the power equal to the first spinjitzu master would rise and usher in the last of the setting suns. With no equal adversary- his power would go unmatched- his destructive rule would change the face of the world and he would not stop until every man, woman and serpentine are enslaved under his control."

"Is he referring to Lloyd?" Zane blinked away from the fire.

I shook my head. "Lloyd wouldn't do that though."

The general continued. "The serpentine tried to warn the land dwellers but they wouldn't listen. They thought we were the enemy though we were only trying to prevent the prophecy of the Golden Master's terrible reign. After the Great Devourer failed to scare the unbelievers underground- it is we who retreated beneath the soil- promising never to return even now when the end is inevitable."

With that the story ended and the general left as my group huddled to talk about the new information. Kai had to bite his tongue from saying anything uncalled for. "I can't believe they think that Lloyd could become the Golden Master."

"Well he is the son of Lord Garmadon…" Jay leaned on a nearby lamp post.

"What I want to know is- if none of them took the hard drive, who else could it have been?" Nya ran her hands through her hair.

"We're under attack!" Some random serpentine yelled. "Protect the young!"

Cole gasped. "Nindroids!"

I jumped and took out my sword...you know- the overpowered one with the flame aspect and knockback enchantments. Jay groaned. "These toasters don't know when to quit!"

"I never thought I would say this but protect the serpentine!" Kai followed by Cole, Jay and myself spinjitzu-ed towards the enemy.

"Junior! Junior!" A voice screamed.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Scale's Junior cried out. But as he was running towards his mother- he was tripped by one of the nindroids. The evil creature laughed. "So you're the future of the farless serpentine...hahaha."

Enraged, I kicked the nindroid on hs head and helped up the small snake while the ninja distracted the nindroid. The mother and the child ran as the guys attempted to take down the one enemy. He easily held them off and soon an entire army's worth appeared in the vicinity- effectively scattering the ninja altogether. I chose to stick by Zane since he would have the hardest time defending himself since PIXAL was nowhere to be seen.

As we continuously knocked them down- we heard Cole yell "Hey there's an eel thing that's powering them on their backs!"

Instantly we all started to pull the plug on all of the nindroids that we could. It didn't take long until all of them were powered down. One still had power though and had managed to grab Zane by the heel. "Foolish nindroid, you are helping the wrong side!"

"The Overlord!" Zane gasped. "You'll never succeed! Not if we have anything to do about it!"

"I already have." The cursed object laughed. "You've unknowingly led me straight to the Golden Ninja and this was merely a diversion to keep you busy, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Annoyed, we all walked towards it but Zane beat us all to the punch by yanking the main cord out of the nindroids system.

"The boy has too much power!" Scales yelled. "I fear the cursse of the Golden Master is upon usss!"

"The dawn of the end is near." Agreed the other "general."

"We have to get to Lloyd before they do!" Nay cried out. "Are you sure you won't help us?"

"I'm sorry- we made an oath to never return to the surface." Scales bowed. "Good luck...one more thing actually! There'ss only one sserpentine who'ss had a hisstory of being so fond of electricobry…"

"Who?" We all cried out.

"You all remember Pythor, yes?"

"Uh-oh!" I gulped.

"But wasn't he eaten by the Devourer?" Cole asked.

"Yes but technically so was Sensei Wu and he came out just fine." Zane put a hand on Cole's shoulder.

"If the Overlord get Lloyd- it's all over." Kai started running away- quickly followed by the others.

I started running away but quickly stopped in my tracks, turned around and looked at SCales who held his son in his arms. "I know it looks bleak now but I wouldn't worry about your prophecy. It's our job to stop any...disturbances in the balance and protect those who can't protect themselves which included you guys - we'll do our best to protect you as well, ok?"

"Thank you young one." Said Scales' wife.

"Brittany!"

"I'm coming!" I waved to the snakes and ran towards my friends. We had to go save another member of our small family before it was too late.


	14. The Digiverse and Project Arcturus

We accepted wherever Lloyd was- he must have already been captured. To gain our bearings- we regrouped with PIXAL and Cyrus Borg on the top of Borg Industries building and just stood there in silence.

At the time my small body was exhausted and within five minutes minutes that I sat down- I fell asleep.

I was rudely awakened however when a group of people barged into the room and started banging on the power core of their recently renewed system. I frowned and wiped my eyes- I sleepily caught a glance at the clock which told me I was out for about two hours. Almost instantly gold flurries started coming off of the environment around us. I blinked and yawned, focusing entirely on the gold energy in front of me.

"Where's all the power coming from?" Nya gulped.

Cyrus replied. "It's golden power- the transformation has already begun! Quick PIXAL isolate the server! If he finds out our plan to use the technoblades remotely- the ninja won't stand a chance!"

"Isolating server." Said PIXAL.

Still not entirely awake- I looked out the window and onto the street below. The golden energy was floating everywhere and the robots that were formerly lifeless now had the power to continue their pursuit. I furrowed my eyebrows. "They work now? Guys? What's going on?"

"Brittany!" Kai ran over to me. "You're awake! We're going to enter the digiverse to stop the Overlord, alright?"

"We as in…?"

"The boys Brittany." Nya cut in.

"They're already here!" Cyrus appeared to be panicked. "Initiate lockdown!"

"Who's here?" I tilted my head. "Is it the nindroids?"

"Be seated ninja, there isn't much time!" Cyrus commanded. The ninja gave no complaints nor asked any questions as they ran towards the four chairs in the middle of room. Nya took it upon herself to address the common people. "Make yourselves useful and make sure theses nindroids don't get up here! If you ever want to see your favorite shows again- you better get downstairs now!"

With that the public ran to the door with a war cry and continuously banged on the them with their makeshift weapons they had gathered before head. I then turned my attention to the ninja and Cyrus. Zane was the first on to fully stepped in and said, "Once we're inside- what do we do?"

"Essencial you must reboot the system." Cyrus replied, going down the line to strap the ninjas in. "All source codes travels through the heart of the main frame- follow it and you'll find an glowing activation port. The technoblades are the keys to activate the reboot and erase all corruption from the system."

"Uh- can you put it more simply?" Kai attempted to look over his shoulder.

"Look for a big bright air head and put your weapon in it!" Cole rolled his eyes.

"Ok- I can do that...hey! I am not an airhead!"

I smiled a little and stood by. ' _Will they be ok?'_

"Remember-" Cyrus started. "- I wrote the code but he controls it. His turf- his rules...I'll try my best to keep you hidden from here but the longer you go unnoticed the better chance you have to succeed. Prepare for entry!"

"How do we know that really will work and won't disintegrate as instantly?" Kai looked at Cyrus.

I blinked-wiping the smile off of my face. "What?"

"I'm not sure- let's see." Cyrus the pressed a big red button- sending them into the digiverse.

"Excuse me Mr. Borg but there was zero warning!" I yelled. "I don't even know what's going on! Where did they go? Are they going to be ok?"

"Relax little one- we are going to stop the Overlord remotely. The ninja have been turned into digital reincarnations So that they could enter the digiverse and reboot the system."

"Are they going to be ok though?!" I clenched my hands into tiny fists.

Cyrus sighed. "I'm not entirely sure- this is completely left up to fate."

"Vitals are strong." PIXAL looked at the screen in front of them.

"Excellent- it means they haven't been spotted yet."

I looked at my friends, feeling a sense of dread build from within. "So they're here but not?"

"Yes."

"And we don't know if they'll be back..."

"Also...yes." Cyrus then turned to the screen on the side and started to type away. "Good! They're starting to master the digiverse. Now I just need to-"

BAM!

Cyrus was knocked down and over by what appeared to be a mechanical spider. Nya immediately jumped into action and held back the machine. "Stay with them! If the Overlord finds them in the system it's all over!"

"My leg's their back!" Cyrus cried out as I ran over to him to help him get back into his wheelchair. PIXAL ran over to another set of screens behind the ninjas and only pressed two buttons before stating. "He's already found them."

Suddenly the ninjas screens started blinking and their faces contorted in what appeared to be pain. PIXAL looked over to us. "The ninja! They're been consumed by the corrupted program."

"We're all a bit consumed!" Nya retorted as she continued to fight off of the robot.

"They're coming up!" A new voice yelled. "This time the postman did not deliver!"

I then ran to the door and took out my sword. "I'll try to stall them- buy us some time!"

"Brittany-"

"We can't let them come any closer!" I yelled- running out of the room and down the hall. Not long after- I heard a pair of footsteps running up behind me. "Take the next left Brittany!" Nya called out.

"Got it!" I then turned in that direction and practically ran straight into the oncoming army. "Oh wow!"

Nya then caught up to me looked at them. "I'll give you one chance to surrender."

"Hahahahahaha… cute." Said the "general" nindroid.

I looked at the group in front of me and gasped. "Sensei? What did they do to you?"

"Black was more his color, don't you think?" Pythor teased.

Nya frowned. "I hate it when people call me cute."

The army then started to advance towards us but Nya and I stood our ground. From the corner of my eye I saw Nya's bracelet flashing and with not a moment to spare I jumped to the side and dodged not only the shattered glass- but Nya's Samurai X suit as well. It barreled its way into the building- scooped Nay up and performed a perfect strike, knocking down the whole group in one go. Nya then started to wiggle the suits fingers saying. "Well won't you look at that- you made me break a nail."

Immediately the nindroids started to pick themselves back up and launched themselves onto Nya's suit. As retaliation I started to cut the nindroids down and right as I beheaded one of them- I heard the faint sound of a door closing. I quickly did a head check and realized two very important aspects were missing. Instantly, I ran to the door and attempted to follow them. "Get back here!"

"Oh why must children be so difficult?" Pythor dramatically sighed when I re-entered his line of sight.

I gulped and stared the two down. Pythor was quick to notice my discomfort. "If you don't want to fight- don't! It would save everyone's time!"

He tried to move past me but I swung my sword in front of him leaving behind a trail of flame. "It's not about saving time- it's about saving lives!"

"Don't act all heroic!" The white snake sneered. "In the end you're still just a child- a sad orphan of a child! No one would want a child like you anyhow!"

"That's not true!" I cried.

"Oh- then where's your family- hmm? And don't give me all that talk about how those ninja are your family!"

"I have a family! They're in Minecraftia!" I furrowed my eyebrows and steadied my stance.

"And where is that?"

"Far away from here!"

"And why aren't they here? Did they leave you as well?" Pythor leaned closer.

"No! I...I left them…" I loosened my grip on my sword just a tiny bit. "I wanted to find my parents…"

"Ahhh. so they aren't your real family either- naughty girl! It's not good to lie!" Pythor knocked me from under my feet using his tail. "Where are they? Did they not care? Did they perhaps not want you?"

I sat up and grabbed my sword before he could knock it away. "Stop it!"

"Why? Does it hurt to hear the truth?"

Enraged, I sliced forward- cutting Pythor just under his collar. "I don't know if it's the truth! That's why I'm looking for them!"

"Pity…" He merely scoffed at the new cut he modeled. "It's a shame you'll never find them then."

"What?"

"End her."

Without warning- I received a blow to the head which slammed me against the wall and blacked out. ' _Sensei…'_

I felt pain everywhere- not just my head. I felt like I had been used as a human piñata. But I felt something constricting my limbs- especially around the joints. Testing my curiosity, I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a abad of sorts with no lights on. ' _At least the lights are off.'_ I thought and slowly moved my way through the sea of blankets, trying to avoid any 'unnecessary' pain. When I hopped off the bed, my legs were not ready to carry my weight just yet and I fell onto my knees. "Looks like I'm crawling."

So I did just that- I crawled to the door and sat by it, looking through my inventory until I found what I was looking for- a healing potion!

My bar read only three hearts out of ten...I must have been given a beating even after I lost consciousness. I only took a little sip...just enough to raise it a heart or so- so I could at least walk again. When I figured the potion worked its magic- I opened the door and walked out nearly blinded by the light. "This is Borg Tower….why am I still here?"

I continuously blinked to get used to the dramatic change in scenery and limped my way through the building. I didn't really have a single idea where I was but when I found the elevators- I figured I would go to the top floor where the ninja last were. I'm not entirely sure why I went there but it was just one of those spur of the moment things- like a little voice inside your head just told you to do it. When I reached the top, Zane, PIXAL and Sensei were all standing around the computer. I slowly made my way toward them- being mindful of my bandages and current limitations. When I got about half-way into the room, the elevator ding-ed behind me and low and behold- out comes Garmadon!

We both froze and had a slight staring contest before I moved a finger up to my lips- signaling him to be quiet. He walked a bit closer and I put my hands in a pleading motion. As he passed me, I got a pat on the head. Garmadon continued his trek until he met up with the three at the desk. "Any update on the search?"

"The cameras haven't picked up any trace of Pythor or Borg." Sensei turned to his brother. I his by one of the nearby boxes as to not be spotted- I wasn't sure why I was hiding or why I felt so afraid. I didn't think this through at all. Sensei was back to normal, right? Why couldn't I bring myself to see him. Since Sensei Wu didn't see me, he continued to talk to Garmadon. "But the ninja are in the field, where we don't have eyes."

From where I standing, I could hear Lloyd's voice some through on the communicator but I couldn't understand what he was saying. When Lloyd finished saying his sentence, Sensei replied. "Lloyd, while you're out there, do you have time to check the the Glacier Barren?"

The communicator was cut off and I saw Garmadon turn around to look at a post-it board. "Project Arcturus…"

""Two days ago Zane and PIXAL intercepted a coded message, something with the code name Project Arcturus."

"I think I found something!" Yelled the postman.

I jumped at the sound and managed to hurt myself. ' _I had no idea he was even there…'_

"Carrot Cup Juster!" He said.

Sensei walked up to the man and asked. "What's a juster?"

"I don't know...yet."

"Keep looking." Sensei patted the man on his shoulder. "I do not think that's it."

Garmadon and Sensei Wu then moved to a different location to look at another screen. "Arcturus…" Garmadon mused. "Long ago didn't we face a serpentine general by that name?"

"Indeed we did brother." Sensei replied. "They even named a celestial zodiac after him. We're not sure how they are...related."

A red alarm started to go off- scaring the living daylights out of me. Garmadon yelled. "What in the name of Ninjago is that?"

"Our facial recognition system picked someone up!" PIXAL replied. That was enough to have them all huddled together around a tiny screen. With them distracted, I gathered the courage and started to approach them. "Kryptor…" Sensei growled.

"My analysis can easily assume that they're using Borg to build something." Zane explained.

PIXAL looked at Zane quizzically. "But what?"

"We need to find out where those trucks are headed." Sensei commanded. "Find me the nearest ninja."

They stayed quiet for a moment while the communicator rang trying to reach Jay, Cole and Nya but… "They're not picking up." Zan cringed. "-Kai is the closest in proximity."

"And he should be able to get there quickly in the Prototype X-1." PIXAL piped up,

"Good." Sensei nodded- pleased with the information. "But tell him not to engage. We can't let them know they're being followed."

"Understood."

The same ringtone sounded again but they were able to talk to to him this time. "Kai I need."

"Not now PIXAL…" Came his reply. ' _Is he away from the microphone?"_

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" PIXAL asked- not sounding at all regretful.

Kai groaned. "This better be good."

"There's a nindroids convoy heading west and Kryptor is on it." PIXAL informed. "We need you to follow but not be spotted."

"Come on! I'm a ninja- it's part of the job."

"We mean it Kai- it's imperative that your carelessness does not jeopardize-" PIXAL was cut off.

"He hung up." Zane ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll attempt to restart connection." PIXAL started pushing buttons and spitting out verbal commands for the computer to follow that I could not understand.

"Try your best PIXAL… I must go check on our youngest member." Sensei sighed.

"I've taken control of the Prototype X-1 remotely." PIXAL smiled. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Fine- have it your way. How close are we?" Kai sighed.

"We'll approach the convoy in three minutes."

"How about we make it in two?" Wow- I could never hear the smirk on Kai's face as clear as I could then.

"You can't control your team!" Garmadon cried.

Sensei shook his head. "Have faith brother."

"He's ascending the mountain range now." Zane turned around.

PIXAL never once looked away from the screen. "Kai- it's best for you to take over now."

"As for your youngest member brother- you don't have to fo far to see if she will recover." Garmadon turned in my direction. Zane immediately stood up and made eye contact with me. "I knew I felt a new presence in the room! How long have you been awake?"

"Not long." I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. "I came here almost as soon as I woke up."

"You shouldn't be here!" Sensei yelled. "You must continue resting!"

I flinched away and gulped. "I'm sorry...I didn't know where I was. I wanted to see you."

Garmadon put a hand on Sensei Wu's shoulder. "Brother, she is still merely a child."

As that Sensei relaxed a bit and sighed. He then turned to look at PIXAL "yelling" at Kai before looking back at me and taking a few steps. In fear i took some more steps back until I bumped into the wall- disturbing the bandages around my head- successfully blocking my vision. "Brittany…" Sensei sounded dejected...maybe even a little hurt. I wasn't too sure.

"Sensei- let me handle it." Zane then walked over to me and moved the bandage back above my head, attaching it to where it once was. "How are you Brittany? Are you hurt anywhere?"

I looked up at Zane with tears in my eyes. "Everything hurts...what happened to me Zane?"

"In my mind controled state-" Sensei started walking towards me again but less hostile than before. "- I was told that I did some dishonorable and unforgiving things."

"You've been asleep for several days...you've woken up a few times but I believe you don't remember that, do you?" Zane put a stand of my hair behind me ear.

I shook my head. "No..."

Sensei then kneels before me as if it was the most normal thing to do. Subconsciously, I grabbed onto Zane's gi and held on to dear life. "Brittany- "The old man started. "- I'm very sorry for what I did...I don't expect you to forgive me but-"

I cut him off with a hug, nearly sending the teacher to the ground. "Don't!"

My knees were screaming in pain and the tears finally left my eyes. Although I wasn't entirely sure of the reason this time. "I was so scared Sensei…"

At this point I felt Sensei wrap his arms around my tiny frame. "There, there young one...it won't happen again."

I sniffled. "Don't make promises you can't keep. But… I know you didn't mean it...I… I forgive you." ' _Do I though? Do I really? I'm still scared….but I don't want him to feel bad..'_ I thought.

I couldn't control myself any longer and broke down sobbing. "I...don't...want them...to...to..hurt you."

Sensei Wu didn't say anything else which was probably for the better. With the situations our little group constantly dealt with- there was no telling what would happen to us on any given day.

"PIXAL…" Kai's voice rang out louder than before "...I'm standing on a tankard of jet fuel...and I think I just lit the match."

"Jet fuel?" Garmadon furrowed his eyebrows. "He needs to get off that thing before it explodes!"

"PIXAL get him out of there!" Sensei unwrapped his arms from around me. I let him go as well and drifted towards Zane. PIXAL immediately started to give Kai directions and commentate on what he was doing. As time went on, Kai's voice got more and more frantic and PIXAL lost control over the car. Zane took control once again of the other monitor and watched it all go down.

"PIXAL!" Kai yelled. "I need to go like NOW!"

"I can't get to you! There's no time!"

I moved to stand between the two brothers and watch the screens as well. From the hacked cameras in the tunnel we could see Kai on top of the sixteen wheeler and the stream of fire slowly catching up to him. Sooner than any of us realized- the fire caught up and blew up half of the truck. "KAI!" Zane and I yelled. "NO!"  
We waited a few seconds while PIXAL connected with Kai's still stable signal. "Kai! Can you hear me?!"

"Loud and clear...maybe not so clear on the back of this truck." He replied.

We all cheered that our friend didn't die. "Oh thank goodness, he's alive!"

"Listen up- " He quieted us down. "-the Overlord's alive."

"What?" Sensei blinked, taking control of the panels. "Do you know where they're heading?"

"Wait...they're stopping. This might be it. I have to be quiet so that don't find my perfect hiding...me?"

And out went his signal.

"Gather everyone." Sensei said. "We have to find out where they're going before it's too late."

That's when Zane and PIXAL started calling the other four team members. Lloyd picked up the call immediately and headed over to our location as soon as Zane had finished explaining the situation to him. From there we attempted to call the other three but they continuously ignored our calls. Luckily, Lloyd arrived in record time. "I came as fast as I could. Do we have any-... Brittany?"

I smiled and waved. "Hi Lloyd."

"You're awake!" Lloyd grinned and ran up to me. You could power a house, this boy practically beamed! He gave me a big bear hug that unfortunately hurt me more than the actual greeting. I whined. "Lloyd...you're hurting me…"

"Sorry, sorry...are you ok?" He put me down back onto the floor and fixed any lose bandages. "I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"

"I'll be ok." I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards our group. "I've taken worse hits and came out ok."

"But Sensei almost-"

"Lloyd we need to think of a way to figure what Project Arcturus means." Zane cut off the green ninja. "But at the same time we can't seem to contact Nya, Cole or Jay. And Kai has been taken by Kryptor."

I nodded in confirmation. ' _But did Sensei almost do?'_

Everybody including Sensei himself had the nerve to let the unanswered question hang in the air even if no one said it out loud, they knew I had no idea what they were talking about. Just like though, Lloyd joined their conversation about how to get Kai back and how on earth to decrypt their strange project. _'I've only healed a whole heart….and everything still hurts to move...there's no way they'll let me be a part of this.'_

It a little longer for the other three to join us. Nya was the first to speak of the trio. "We came here as fast as we could."

"But my name is Robotron-3000." Said the little robot Nya dragged behind her. Saddened (for some reason) she let go of the robot who simply went back to the elevator- shutting it behind him.

I tilted my head. "I have more questions than I do answers."

"Whoa- Brittany!" Cried Jay. "You're awake!"

"We can discuss that later." Zane shook his head. "The OVerlord is back and her has Kai."

"The Overlord?!" They all asked.

I yawned. "It's not like he ever actually left though...sure, we couldn't track his signal but it was never concrete that he was gone."

Sensei placed his hand on my shoulder. I immediately tensed up but I didn't think he noticed. "We know they plan to launch Project Arcturus tonight but we need to figure out what it is in order to save him. Think...think...the answer must be right in front of us."

"The Overlords dying wish is to become the Golden Master..." Lloyd mused. "Maybe it has something to do with it.."

"Good Lloyd." Said Sensei. "But what sense does all of this make? What is Project Arcturus?"

"I've run all of these clues through my database to see how they're connected." PIXAL finally looked up from the screen. "But there is no correlation."

"Maybe there's a reason it's not in your database!" Zane looked to his girlfriend.

"But everything that has happened in Nijago's history has been recorded inside of me."

Zane shook his head. "Not everything. Do you remember when we followed Garmadon back in time?"

"Yes." I sat up a little straighter, while the rest nodded in agreement.

"We did?" Lloyd tilted his head.

"You don't remember Lloyd because when we returned to the present it had all been altered by what we had done in the past." Zane continued with his explanation.

"But why does Brittany know?"

"I was the first to jump through the portal." I yawned. It was getting late and my body couldn't keep up with using the energy it had to heal itself and stay awake at the same time.

It did not go unnoticed by the group.

"I remember because I was there." Garmadon got the flashback face. "You used the golden weapons to destroy my mega weapon...and when they collided they were shot into-"

"Space…" I blinked. "They're going to space?"

"Since Lloyd gave up his power, the Overlord's going after the only thing that can turn him into the Golden Master- golden weapons." Nya answered my question.

"Quick! Where do the serpentine study the stars?" Garmadon looked at PIXAL but it was Zane who ran over to the computer and looked it up. "The ancient city of Oroborus."

"We must go there at once."

"They seem to gravitate to that place, don't they?" I rested my arms and head on the table.

Sensei stopped his brother from getting too carried away. "How do you know nindroids will be there?"

"Faith."

I looked down at myself and picked at all the bandages that were wrapped around my limbs. My health bar was at a solid six hearts now but I don't think they would have accepted my help even if I offered. "I'm not going, am I?"

"No you're not Brittany." Lloyd ruffled my hair. "Don't sweat it though- your job is to focus on getting better ok?"

"Ok Lloyd." I smiled. "But only because you asked so nicely."

"We'll be back Brittany." Jay shouted as he left the room.

Cole took the time to ruffle my hair as well. "We gotta go kick some butt."

"I know Cole." I laughed and swatted his hand away. "Don't get hurt… please?"

"While we can't promise scratches- we can promise a return." Zane smiled.

And then they left.


	15. The End?

Sleep didn't come as easily as the adults in the room would have hoped for me. I was up for at least another two hours trying to keep myself awake until I nearly collapsed over my own two feet. "Brittany-" Sensei put a hand on my shoulder, starling me awake once more. "-you must go rest."

I shook my head. "I can do it- I don't want to miss anything."

"And if we need your help?" Garmadon stepped in. "How could you be of any help to the cause if you're not at your full strength?"

"But-"

"Brittany, I understand you're concerned but we need you to get better." Sensei held out his hand. "Come- let us go back to your room where you will rest better."

I hesitated grabbing his hand but found myself doing so anyway. I didn't want to accept defeat but I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. So although it was a bit sluggish- I let myself be dragged away by Sensei through the building.

No words were exchanged between the two of us but I was in a state of mind where I was in no shape to hold a proper conversation. There's not much I remember from this little point in time but before I let my head touch the pillow. I turned to Sensei, grabbed his sleeve and asked. "You'll come get me if anything new pops up, right?"

"Perhaps… now sleep child. Let your body focus its energy on restoring itself." He said.

Then it was lights out for me.

I woke up by myself when the sun was low in the sky. I checked my health and saw that now I only lacked one heart in total. Please with my progress, I started to peel away the bandages around my body. It was a slow process since most of my body was still relatively sore in some places but soon enough I was free from my cloth prison.

Now that I had more movement, I climbed out of the bed and out of the room- with the objective of checking up on my friends. I still had no idea of what the layout of this was however and spent a great deal of my time trying to find the elevators once more. The last time was out of pure luck.

When I did find the elevators, I simply pressed the highest button and waited to arrive at my destination. When the doors opened, I saw everyone gathered by the computer- with headsets on and everything.

The atmosphere was very tense.

"They can't hear us because of the asteroid shower!" Sensei yelled. ' _Asteroid shower? Where are the ninja? I thought they would have been back by now…'_ I furrowed my eyebrows.

"They must be preparing to land." PIXAL shook her head.

Garmadon turned towards his brother and said. "We must warn them about what else is on that comet!"

"Yeah...wh…" Nya's eyes widened. "We're not alone either!"

"We must go." Sensei backed up from the computer.

Everyone followed suit afterwards but Garmadon was hesitant to leave. "But we have to warn them! We just can't leave them without telling them what else is out there!"

"Grab everything you can!" Sensei commanded.

Nya then started to turn in my direction. "I'll go get Brittany!"

"I'm here." I pitifully waved.

"Where are the bandages?"

I shrugged. "I took them off- I'm nearly complete heal anyway."

I then started to pick up the equipment like everyone else and put it in my inventory. It was getting a little crowded in there but I made it work. Garmadon however (or PIXAL for that matter) wasn't aware of ym different abilities. "Brittany where are you putting the equipment?"

"Im my inventory...it's kind of like a giant pocket. I keep my potions and weapons in there." I started taking more as Nya handed it to me. "Thank goodness you're on our side. Come on- we'll leave through the window."

Carefully we made our way through the shattered glass and onto the conveniently placed trolley under it. As we were lowering it to escape their line of sight, we heard the elevator open. "The cowards have fled!"

"It doesn't matter." Spoke the Overlord. It's voice sent a physical shiver down my spine. "Project Arcturus had kicked- it's time to open factory."

A few agonising seconds passed before we heard his voice again. "The Golden Master will be waiting for their return!"

Garmadon frowned. "He's vulnerable- we must fight him now!"

"No." Sensei shook his head. "Not until the ninja are home safe. We must got back in contact- we need to find somewhere we can't be found."

"I know just the place." Garmadon smirked.

I took the opportunity to ask my question. "Speaking of- where are the-"

And my opportunity was taken away by Cyrus who was laser cutting the support cords from above. I gulped. "That's not good."

"They found us." Nya cried. "Don't lose the computer equipment! We need them all!"

Suddenly the cord snapped, sending us all to one side. PIXAL nearly dropped the piece she was holding but Sensei caught her as she caught the dropped piece. "We need to use our momentum- together!"

We all caught sight of his plan and waited for the time to act but the last cord snapped again. "NOW!"

We all made it to the safety of the platform, except for Sensei Wu. Garmadon had the quick enough reflexis to drop his computer part and dive for Wu- successfully catching him. "I got you brother!"

From above, the nindroids started to shoot at us. Nya took out her fan and started blocking some of the shots. "Great! Now we'll never get out of here!"

"Leave that to me." Said PIXAL.

A few seconds passed and a helicopter of sorts flew by the platform- it took me longer than I would ever admit to realize that it was PIXAL's doing. Nya sighed of relief. "Good thinking. You're still linked to the security forces!"

"Now- let's get out of here." The androids smiled.

We all hopped in the helicopter and flew away from the lasers being shot at us. Garmadon bit his lip. "I hope the city can survive without us."

"So to the ninja." Sensei looked upwards. "I pray."

My eyes widened. "Where are they?!"

"Have you not been told? My algorithm suggests that by now you should have been able to piece it together." PIXAL tilted her head.

"Even so-" Anger rose through my body. "-I want to hear the answer out loud."

"They're in space Brittany." Nya started running her hands through my hair- I suppose to calm me down. "They went after the golden weapons to stop the nindroids from taking them. We weren't expecting it either. That's why we need the computer parts- so we can keep in contact with them."

Garmadon continued to fly the helicopter- not commenting on the current situation. I didn't say anything after that- no one said anything after that actually. In the end, Garmadon took us back to the monastery and had us set up camp there. I was dragged away to help "unload" the equipment while Garmadon explained the situation ton Misako and the others actually set up the communicator once more. It took a while for it to make any sort of connection but when we got a signal, Sensei took it upon himself to talk to the ninjas. "You must not disturb the alien life- it's very dangerous. Can you hear me?"

"I-I couldn't ma-make that out Sensei." Kai's voice came through. The quality was atrocious but we got to talk to them again. "What did you say?"

"The alien life-" repeated Sensei. "-they are dangerous."

"A few years ago- scientists discovered a meteorite that had fallen to Ninjago. It most likely came from the same comet you're on." Nya read out of a textbook. Misako was nice enough to prepare us all a nice cup of tea...even if I don't think the situation called for it. "Inside the meteorite-" Nya continued. "-there were the fossilized remains of some kind of parasite that feeds on metal alloys."

We got no response from the ninja and with much concern- Nya tried to talk to them again. "Can you hear me? Don't come into contact with the parasites! They eat metal!"

Many minutes passed before we even heard the connection go through again...we...didn't receive good news.

"They got away." Kai said. "We failed - I repeat- they got the golden weapons."

"Are you at least on the rocket?!" Nya cried. "Can you stop them?"

"No...the ship is destroyed."

Tears came to my eyes… ' _They broke their promise…'_... this time I did nothing to hide them whatsoever. Kai sounded distraught. "We're not coming home."

I wasn't able to take it anymore and just ran away from our group. Misako gasped and attempted to grab me but I avoided her. "Brittany-!"

"Let her be…" Garmadon stopped her. He continued to talk to her but I was too far from then still be within in her reach. I kept running until I left the building and somehow made it into the garden. I...don't know...how long I was there for. But I remember being shaken by a very excited Nya. "Brittany! They're coming home!"

I sniffled and rubbed my eyes, frowning at her. "You heard then, didn't you? They said they weren't coming back."

"No." She shook her head. "They built a small rocket of their own! They're on their way back right now!"

"Really?" I blinked and got off the garden floor. "What's the plan then?"

"Well...we've been speculating the they won't survive the ship coming through the atmosphere. So PIXAL needs all of our help to safely get our boys back home." She took my hand and led me back into the monastery.

When we reached the others I stayed back and simply listened to their plans and who would do what to get this plan in motion. Not once did it include me but I...wasn't… I don't know...well enough? It bugged me that I wasn't included yet I was slightly grateful for it. I'm not sure what was wrong with me.

As the hours went by and the sun came up- we got word that the ninja had entered the atmosphere and yes, the rocket had no survived the entry. The ninja instead were free falling - using their elemental shield to protect themselves from the conditions of the atmosphere. Our small crew then gear up their old vehicles and controlled them to catch the ninja before they hit the ground. I was in the same ride as Sensei and Garmadon- comfortably situated between the two of them as Sensei drove and Garmadon took...whatever it's called…the "crow's nest" of the motor vehicle. Sensei smiled at the boys in front of us. "Welcome home ninja."

"Brother-" Garmadon started. "I don't remember the last time we fought on the same team."

"I have the city in my sights." Zane looked forward. ' _Can't I say hi to them?'_

Jay nervous laughed. "City? That's not a city! That's an impenetrable fortress!"

"Behind that wall- the Golden Master has the power of the first spinjitzu master." Garmadon mused.

I stood up a little bit in the car to see the city. "So how do we stop them?"

"Ninja!" Cyrus interrupted us all. "If you get this message- I've managed to escape and have found refuge in the Temple of Fortitude here in the city."

"Temple of Fortitude?" Sensei gasped. "That was left over from the stone wars! The Overlord used it as a stronghold against the power of the first spinjitzu master!"

"It has a sacred seal that can resist the golden power. Very clever." Garmadon looked to the side...or down? He looked somewhere but I wasn't sure at what.

"If you can make it here alive-" Cyrus Borg continued. "-then I may have a device that can defeat him!"

Lloyd was the first to respond. "Then we need to get to that temple! Everyone stay together!"

We all then ran in our respective mode of transportation in the direction of what used to be New Ninjago City. "Kai, you, Nya and Zane- take the high road!" Lloyd commanded. "We'll make our own road.

The ninja then went their separate ways- Lloyd jumped through a window on one of the buildings while Cole just smashed through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man. the rest of us just followed Cole's lead since we weren't in any fancy motor vehicles like Lloyd- while the other that could fly simply went over the buildings. We tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible but that was hard to do when there could have (literally) been eyes everywhere."The temple's up ahead!" Sensei yelled into the communicator.

"Nya's down! I repeat Nya's down!" Kai yelled back.

Cole growled. "I'm going back for her."

"No- I'm going back for her!" Jay replied. My eyebrows furrowed on their own accord and I subconsciously crossed my arms.

Zane gasped in response to the madness. "Go back? Go back and our probability of getting to the temple exponentially diminishes!"

"This isn't about numbers Zane!" Kai yelled- now more upset than panicked. "It's about family!"

"Everyone else head for the temple!" Lloyd called out. "We'll go pick up Nya!"

"I got her!" Kai exclaimed momentarily afterwards. "She's on the corner of Buckley Boulevard and- ahhhh! Urgghhh…"

I sat up in my seat as I listened to Kai's transmissions. "Kai? Cole? Guys?"

Our trio received no response- Sensei refused to acknowledge the transmission as he continued to drive the tank to through the city. We eventually made it to the temple and got out of the vehicle as fast as children and elderly can. We then waited for the rest of our crew by the doors of the temple and watched as a massive golden tornado swept through the city. I tugged on Garmadon's sleeve. "Is that the Golden Master?"

"I'm afraid so Brittany." He sighed.

"Is he chasing the ninja?" My grip tightened.

"Let's pray not…"

Without warning the golden tornado turned in our direction and started coming our way, Sensei frowned. "Brittany- get inside!"

"But-"

"No buts! Go!"

I then ran away from the door- entering the temple. One by one the ninja jumping in, running inside as Sensei and Garmadon started closing the door. "Brother-" Sensei looked over. "NOW!"

Then they closed the temple entrance and activated the shield against the golden power. The temple shook from the outside- inward as the nindroids constantly shot as the shield protecting us. Lloyd then addressed Cyrus as he wheeled his way towards us. "You said you had a weapon that can stop him?!"

My eyes widened as I realised we were missing one key member. ' _Where's Nya?!'_

"I do." Cyrus smirked to himself. "It's my most protective secret."

"What is it?" Jay asked. A hexagonal panel opened up from the floor to reveal a box...I think it was. My ten-year-old self titled her head in confusion as Cyrus poked and prodded the clamps above it with a - screwdriver? I was so confused.

"Is it an ancient curse?" Lloyd guessed.

Kai smiled. "I say fire power!"

"I hope it rocks!" Cole looked over the table. Jay then spouted out question like a broken faucet as the box opened itself. "It's a pill?"

The so called Overlord stopper device was about the size of one of those elephant pills with a pastel blue tint to it. "It's not just any pill." Cyrus explained, taking it out of the box. "It's a nano pill! For all of time, scientists have been searching for the holy grail of inventions. A diet pill that actually works!"

"Wait till you get old." Garmadon's lips twitched slightly upwards. "Then you'll see why it's important. Tell me Borg-" The old man shook the other. "-does it work?"

"No." Cyrus returned to being a serious scientist. "But the nanotechnology inside has an adverse effect. It not only shrinks your waistline but minituarises you as well!"

"You've made a shrinking pill?" Zane raised an eyebrow.

Kai ran his hands through his hair. "Let me get this straight- you want to get close to this guy that has amour that with a single touch would make us toast AND you want us to give him a pill?!"

"Precisely!"

I nudged Kai with my elbow. "I don't see you coming up with anything better."

"Brother," Garmadon smiled. "-do you remember when the both of us were on the same team?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Yeah- hey- yeah- old timers? Um, mind paying attention? We're trying to save the world here!"

"Yes brother!" Sensei nodded. "On the playground when we were kids- Temple Gate Tigers!"

"I threw a mean curve ball and your stick could thread the needle." Garmadon grabbed his brother. "We never lost!"

"So true...get us close ninja and we'll give the Golden Master his medicine!" Sensei smirked.

"Alright!" The ninja nodded.

"Go get the stone armour ninja!" Sensei commanded. "And meet us in the west wing! Brittany- stay with Borg and PIXAL, we may need their help."

I nodded but understood as- "stay with these guys because we don't want you in the action or need your help but I don't want to hurt your feelings so I'll tell you this instead." Borg and I stayed in the other room- watching the nindroids shoot the shield. PIXAL actually went with Zane to watch him try on the armour. Lloyd soon came out in his upgraded gear to watch the nindroids with us. We all blinked when the blue shield started disintegrating away. "The shield's been broken!"

As the shield continued to fall, Nya came up from behind the nindroids and shot from her commandeered battle tank. "Go get them ninja!"

Now that the coast was clear, I ran up to the boys and yelled. "Don't break your promise!"

"Got it Pinky!" Cole smiled!

"Wish us luck Brittany!" Lloyd waved. I waved back and watched the five boys spinjitzu their way out of the temple and through the city. Not long after, Sensei and Garmadon followed the ninja out of the temple, not really bothering with the simplest of the a promise of a return. Nya and PIXAL took it upon themselves to track the ninja and their movements while Borg watched me.I knew that if I wanted to catch up with my friends I would have to sneak out of that place without ANYONE noticing...not as easy when you have two geniuses and and an androids on watch.

As the screaming from the city continued to progress louder, the attention of my "babysitters" was directed elsewhere/monitoring the progress of both the ninjas and the Overlord. "The serpentine are leading the civilians underground!" Nya cried. "I knew they would help out eventually!"

I slowly started to tip toe my way towards the door and when I was out- I broke into a sprint, sunig a speed potion to catch up as quickly as I could to the action. I passed multiple street signs and figured that if I followed some weird golden ropes, I'd find my friends in the eye of the storm. As I got closer, their voices got louder...and my speed potion wore out. I arrived to the scene just in time to witness Pythor jump in front of the Overlord and swallow the pill instead. As a result- the snake shrunk and was too small for his cries to reach my eardrums.

"That was it?" The Overlord looked at my friends. "That was. All. You. Got?!"

He then wrapped those golden rope things around them and pulled them closer to his form. Instinctively they all struggled against their confinement. "The armour!" Cole yelled. "Why isn't it working?!"

"Because your. Time! Is! Up!" Replied the dark one, as he chased Zane. The white ninja was jumping over and through the threads to escape being captured. He got away enough to then land on a nearby building and run off it, jumping off of his teammates, slowly getting closer to the Overlord.

My eyes widened as I watched the nindroid actually jump towards the dark one. "ZANE! DON'T DO IT!"

But he was too focused to hear me. He leaped towards the monster and grabbed onto the Overlord's golden armour. "Let my friends go!" He yelled, it was a mix of both agony and determination.

"Go where doomed ninja?" The Overlord taunted. There was a moment of silence between our group as Zane progressively glowed blue. From where I was, I saw a little piece fall from Zane and he started compulsing vigorously. The Overlord simply chuckled and stated. "The power of the golden weapons are too much for you. Your survival chance is ZERO!"

"This...isn't about numbers!" Zane cried in agony- trying with all his might to stay above the power that continuously coursed through him. "IT'S ABOUT FAMILY!"

From then on the golden ropes took a green tint and lost their grip on my friends. For the most part- they landed unharmed and relatively close to me but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Zane. I could no longer see him- the blue light he emitted was too bright.

"He's not letting go!" Lloyd looked up as well- I don't think the guys noticed me- they were all fixated on the nindroid above.

Jay couldn't help but to scream. "His heart- it's reaching critical mass!"

"If his heart overloads- he'll blow!" Cole yelled. "He'll never survive!"

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. _'Zane stop it! Let go! Let go please! I don't want to lose my friend!'_

"Let go of him Zane!" Kai called out. "What is he doing?!"

Sensei said. "He's protecting us!"

"No…" I whispered- too shocked by the situation to gather any courage to even raise my voice. "Zane you promised...you promised you would never leave again…"

Zane then shot at the Overlord all the power that has collected inside of him- covering the Overlord in ice...to take him down as well. "No Zane!" Jay tried to run to him but was cut off by Sensei. "NOO!"

"We have to get out of here!" Sensei yelled, turning my direction. The older ones had to corral the ninja under the city into the sewers- I didn't notice though- to fixated on the chaos but Garmadon had apparently run at me and picked me up while Sensei blocked the ninja from running. Instantly my flight or fight response was triggered and I started struggling against the old man. "No- stop it!"

I wa sno match against him however and I was dragged down with the others literally kicking, screaming and sobbing all the way in. I don't remember who held me as I cried but I remember hearing the explosion and the climbing out of the sewers that had just missed the ice. The boys of course climbed out first since they were the ones on top of us and helped me and the two brothers out as we took in the change of environment. Borg, PIXAL and Nya met us at the bottom of the street and we all looked around for...anything really. I walked around next to Cole and gasped when I saw a little metallic piece sticking out of the snow. "Cole look!"

I rubbed my eyes and picked up the shiny object.

It was half of Zane's face.

The rest soon joined us to see what we were looking at. Nya started crying as soon as she saw it while I had my tears once again running down my face. PIXAL started to mourn in her own way while Borg (although hesitant to break the spell) decided to speak. "I had once thought that technology would solve the world's problems. That was until technology created new problems...devastating problems. If it would be alright with you- I would like a plan burial for him."

It wa sa unanimous agreement.

The ceremony was good- Cyrus built in Zane's memory and it was all filled with his closest friends and people who respected him. When it was over- no one dared to move. Nys looked over at Kai and in a way looked at the rest of the ninja by his side. "So...what happens after this?"

"I don't know." Cole breathed out.

Jay shook his head. "And I don't care. Today's about Zane."

I took out my tag and stared long and hard at it as the conversation around my continued. "I think I'm going to leave."

"What?!" Kai snapped his head in my direction- scaring the living daylight out of me.

I revioled. "I don't want to be in a place that's...incomplete...Zane's gone now and now...I know my parents aren't here and I still want to find them...and...and..."

"And what?!" Jay frowned. "Leave us like Zane!"

"Jay!" Sensei smacked the blue ninja. "Brittany- we shouldn't not make such rash decisions in a time like this. We are all hurting from the loss of one we hold dear but for now we must try to rebuild ourselves."

I nodded and stayed quiet but in my own head my decision was made. Kai came over and gave me a tight hug. "Why would even think of that Brittany?"

"I still want to find my parents...it was my goal way before even coming here Kai." I looked up at him, trying not to cry from disappointing my friends. "If I really am a ninja then I can't give up, can I? That's what you guys always say- ninja never quit...so why should I?" Kai seemed to be appeased by my answer but no one else talked to me about it.

Over the next week or so I was taking as little provisions as I could without being noticed to restock on my rations. The day before I left I realise how broken everyone was without Zane- no one talked- everyone was distant with each other. It left me wondering if I could have the heart to leave them like this but my search had come to a dead end and I had to restart from scratch. So, I wrote letters to everyone- each with a designated name and left them on my made bed.

When night came- I left.

By the time dawn broke out I was already far away from the city and from any known civilization thanks to my speed potions. The next day or two I spent gathering materials (while trying to remain as low as possible) to build my portal out of Ninjago. When it was finally complete- I hesitated to step through. Was I really going to start over from scratch? They were all so heart broken with Zane gone is this something I'm capable of doing to them?

 _'I'll never forget you guys or the lessons I've learned….I'll remember all that you taught me and I_ ** _will_** _be back- I promise.'_ With an idea of a return stuck in my mind- I took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.


End file.
